diff --git a/artifacts/flagger/crd.yaml b/artifacts/flagger/crd.yaml
index 3dffd621..b1467d67 100644
--- a/artifacts/flagger/crd.yaml
+++ b/artifacts/flagger/crd.yaml
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ spec:
             - service
             - canaryAnalysis
           properties:
+            provider:
+              type: string
             progressDeadlineSeconds:
               type: number
             targetRef:
diff --git a/charts/flagger/templates/crd.yaml b/charts/flagger/templates/crd.yaml
index 44b3a115..a6eb7409 100644
--- a/charts/flagger/templates/crd.yaml
+++ b/charts/flagger/templates/crd.yaml
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ spec:
             - service
             - canaryAnalysis
           properties:
+            provider:
+              type: string
             progressDeadlineSeconds:
               type: number
             targetRef:
diff --git a/pkg/apis/flagger/v1alpha3/types.go b/pkg/apis/flagger/v1alpha3/types.go
index a07900aa..3d5b0364 100755
--- a/pkg/apis/flagger/v1alpha3/types.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/flagger/v1alpha3/types.go
@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ type Canary struct {
 
 // CanarySpec is the spec for a Canary resource
 type CanarySpec struct {
+	// if specified overwrites the -mesh-provider flag for this particular canary
+	// +optional
+	Provider string `json:"provider,omitempty"`
+
 	// reference to target resource
 	TargetRef hpav1.CrossVersionObjectReference `json:"targetRef"`
 
diff --git a/pkg/controller/scheduler.go b/pkg/controller/scheduler.go
index a6f9ddd3..943a9809 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/scheduler.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/scheduler.go
@@ -90,10 +90,16 @@ func (c *Controller) advanceCanary(name string, namespace string, skipLivenessCh
 
 	primaryName := fmt.Sprintf("%s-primary", cd.Spec.TargetRef.Name)
 
+	// override the global provider if one is specified in the canary spec
+	provider := c.meshProvider
+	if cd.Spec.Provider != "" {
+		provider = cd.Spec.Provider
+	}
+
 	// create primary deployment and hpa if needed
 	// skip primary check for Istio since the deployment will become ready after the ClusterIP are created
 	skipPrimaryCheck := false
-	if skipLivenessChecks || strings.Contains(c.meshProvider, "istio") {
+	if skipLivenessChecks || strings.Contains(provider, "istio") {
 		skipPrimaryCheck = true
 	}
 	label, ports, err := c.deployer.Initialize(cd, skipPrimaryCheck)
@@ -103,7 +109,7 @@ func (c *Controller) advanceCanary(name string, namespace string, skipLivenessCh
 	}
 
 	// init routers
-	meshRouter := c.routerFactory.MeshRouter(c.meshProvider)
+	meshRouter := c.routerFactory.MeshRouter(provider)
 
 	// create or update ClusterIP services
 	if err := c.routerFactory.KubernetesRouter(label, ports).Reconcile(cd); err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/router/factory.go b/pkg/router/factory.go
index 0a13eead..a14fef68 100644
--- a/pkg/router/factory.go
+++ b/pkg/router/factory.go
@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ func (factory *Factory) MeshRouter(provider string) Interface {
 	switch {
 	case provider == "none":
 		return &NopRouter{}
+	case provider == "kubernetes":
+		return &NopRouter{}
 	case provider == "nginx":
 		return &IngressRouter{
 			logger:     factory.logger,