Toronto got fooled by hoax claiming Raising Cane's is coming to Canada
People in Toronto were alight with glee when viral Louisiana-based chicken joint Raising Cane's confirmed earlier this week that they'd soon be expanding to Canada with a location in the city.
Only, they didn't.
When a TikTok video emerged on Monday, Aug 12, announcing that Raising Cane's would be opening their first-ever Canadian location in Toronto next year, the response was immediate.
The first video amassed a whopping 160,000 views over the course of the coming days, with a second announcement video managing to rake in almost 1 million views.
@raisingcanestoronto #raisingcanes #canes #canessauce #toronto #canada #fyp ♬ original sound - Ian Asher
"I'm freaking out," one person comments.
"AHHHH MY DREAMS OF CAME TRUE," writes another.
The story was even picked up by a few Toronto-based media outlets who triumphantly reported that Raising Cane's had officially announced their Canadian expansion.
Some viewers, though, were immediately skeptical of the account. "I'm gonna hold everyone's hand when i say this..." one person comments on the initial video.
And they were right: the whole thing was a hoax.
If the sketchy production of the video (which features white scribbles where the watermark from Raising Cane's official account was covered up) wasn't enough to peak your suspicion, a representative from Raising Cane's confirms to blogTO that the fast food chain has no immediate plans of opening up north of the border.
"We love the energy and excitement Raising Cane’s has garnered across Canada, but don’t currently have plans to open restaurants there," Megan Sprague, a PR representative for Cane's tells blogTO.
Moreover, she emphasizes, that all of the TikTok videos making claims about the restaurant's expansion have no connection whatsoever to the chain.
"Any TikTok videos announcing Raising Cane's coming to Canada or mentioning specific opening dates and locations are fake and not from our verified Cane’s account."
Never say never, though, Toronto; Meghan does say that the chain is "continually looking at global destinations and popular cities in which to open Raising Cane’s," so perhaps there's still a chance that residents of the city will be able to get their fill of Texas toast and tendies in the future.
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