CANstruction Toronto returns for its 23rd year in support of the Daily Bread Food Bank
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CANstruction Toronto is back. Now in its 23rd year, the design competition brings architects, engineers, designers, and students together to address the city’s hunger gap in a creative way.
Participants design and build sculptures using cans of non-perishable food and after the event, the cans are donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto.
This year, our sculpture, “Can We Bear It?”, celebrates the majestic polar bear of Canada’s North—a symbol of resilience—and aims to raise awareness about the interconnected challenges of climate change, wildlife conservation, and food insecurity. As sea ice melts, polar bears must swim longer distances to hunt, leading to declining reproductive rates and reduced cub survival. Our installation underscores the urgent need for climate action while highlighting the power of community support and creative advocacy.
The sculpture’s form is both striking and symbolic, drawing inspiration from the sleek, stylized work of Jason Carter, a celebrated Indigenous artist known for his minimalist approach and reverence for wildlife. The bear’s body is constructed from tuna cans, chosen for their shape and subtle silvery sheen, evoking the shimmer of a polar bear’s coat under Arctic light. A surrounding palette of soft to deep blues mirrors the shifting tones of sea ice and northern waters, capturing both their beauty and fragility.
The sculptures will be on display for public viewing at the TD South Tower (Tower 4) 79 Wellington St. West on May 12th until May 16th.
We’re grateful to our incredible team and the values-aligned organizations who make our participation in CANstruction possible.
CANstruction team: Angela Gou, Alistair Grierson, Harsh Khandelwal, Nick Choi, Ramy Mohammad, Joan Gardner, Claudia Hinojosa, Lydon Whittle, Jason K Chang, Maggie Zhang, Thy Cam Ho, Alistair Grierson, Samiha Ali, Daniel Liu, Dulat Sargaskayev.
Sponsors: First Gulf Corporation, Kindred Works, AC CUT, Blackwell Structural Engineering, Hammerschlag & Joffe Inc., Hub International Ontario Limited, Salex, Rocco’s No Frills, Clarke-Way Travel, MBII, Shibley Righton LLP, Stone Tile, Wellington Altus Group Solutions.
