Lifelong resident of Pittsburgh’s North Side (not to mention husband, father, and grandfather), Canning has been a neighborhood activist for many years. In addition to being involved in North Side United, he is a member of the North Side Leadership Council. He is also a Justice and Witness team member of the Western Pennsylvania Association of the United Church of Christ. Canning earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in History at Duke University. He was a teacher of World Cultures and Comparative Religions for 38 years at Mt. Lebanon High School and served as an officer in his local union.