Five April Fools’ Day pranks that tricked Canadians

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Once a year, people, brands and social media accounts come out with attention-grabbing headlines and stories in an effort to trick readers. The noon April Fools noon deadline has officially passed, so here are are five pranks that fooled Albertans.

Naheed Nenshi taking Jyoti Gondek’s spot as mayor

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By marking the source as “happyaprilfools.com”, the Calgary Events Instagram page is making sure everyone knows that this is a joke. Following Gondek’s Saturday appearance at the Calgary Flames game where she was booed, this joke may be in bad taste.

WestJet: MemorEASE

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WestJet was eager to share their latest innovation, posting on X shortly before midnight. MemorEASE, a headset loaded with AI-generated vacation memories, would allow Canadians to enjoy a holiday without having to leave their homes. The video included a label that reads “it’s totally real,” but commentors on X did not appear to be fooled.

Alberta’s wild west amusement park

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Curiocity Calgary shared the announcement of Alberta’s newest amusement park: Rocky Range Adventure Park. The $2-billion price tag had Albertans divided in the comments – some saying that’s what makes it obvious as a prank, others explaining where the money would be better spent. The make-believe amusement park already has expansion plans.

Tim Hortons’ Timbit wedding cake

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Tim Hortons’ unveiled a new menu item: the Timbit wedding cake. Announcing that it is only available April 1 and showing a “Happy April Fools” banner, they make it clear that this is a joke. That didn’t stop people from getting excited, with a lot of commentors asking the coffee chain to make the cake a reality.

Mcdonalds lip balms

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McDonalds Canada announced McD’s lip balms, in the flavours Big Mac Sauce, Oreo McFlurry and Extra Pickles. To make sure it was read as a joke, they let readers know to “check the date”, though people seem excited at the concept.

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