Can Man Dan returns for 15th year of food, toy donations

Dan Johnstone, or Can Man Dan, on Dec. 5, 2025. (Galen McDougall/CTV News Edmonton)

Dan Johnstone, otherwise known as Can Man Dan, is back for his 15th year of collecting food and toys for Edmontonians this holiday season.

Johnstone began the first leg of his 10-day camp out at Toys-R-Us on Gateway Boulevard Friday morning collecting donations for Edmonton’s Food Bank and Santa’s Anonymous.

A former recipient of the food bank as a child, he says he’s thrilled to see the response to his efforts grow each year.

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“I never in a million years thought that Edmonton would keep me around this long, or keep me relevant, but they have,” he said on Friday. “It’s just so crazy, because back then I was just some kid with a dream.”

Can Man Dan will be outside Toys-R-Us collecting food and toy donations until Sunday at 6 p.m. before moving on to a number of Sobey’s locations throughout the month.

He’s hoping to raise 50,000 pounds of food and 50,000 toys.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall