Bob Erb

Bob Erb, a seasonal construction worker and long-time cannabis-legalisation campaigner from Terrace, British Columbia, held the winning ticket in the Lotto Max draw of 2 November 2012, worth C$25 million. He had bought it at a Chevron station in New Hazelton while driving to his father's funeral in Calgary; a clerk misread his order and printed an extra play the store was about to void, and Erb kept it. The giving started at once. CBC reported he wrote more than 150 cheques in the month after the win and had distributed close to C$7 million to neighbours, charities and businesses around Terrace. In April 2013 he committed C$1 million to ending cannabis prohibition in Canada, naming Sensible BC, NORML Canada, the NORML Women's Alliance of Canada, Stop the Violence BC and the 4/20 rallies, and HuffPost reported he spent more than C$100,000 staging 4/20 events that year. He also left a C$10,000 tip for Clifford Luther, a Saskatchewan diner owner whose daughter had been diagnosed with cancer. Erb had run for the B.C. Marijuana Party in the 2001 provincial election, and stayed in the same small house after winning.

As of a 2016 profile by The World (PRX), Erb had collected the prize from the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, was still living in Terrace, still intended to keep working seasonal construction, and was still funding cannabis-legalisation campaigns. No later verified update was found as of 2026.