Great Britain manager Hope Powell declared that she thought her team gave everything despite seeing their Olympic dream end.
Canada dominated Team GB for long periods and were worthy winners in Coventry, scoring through Jonelle Filigno and Christine Sinclair to qualify for the semi-finals.
Powell admitted that was she was disappointed but did not think that her team could do any more.
She told BBC Sport: "Were we at our best? Probably not but I can't fault the effort. Sometimes it just isn't your day and today it was not our day.
"It is unfair to take anything away from Canada. What can I say, they won and we didn't and they go through."
The host nation had qualified impressively from the group stage with a 100% record, but could not maintain that form and exit the tournament at the quarter-final stage.
