McDonald’s opened its first restaurant outside the United States in 1967, in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.
The Canadian opening marked the beginning of McDonald’s international expansion. Canada was a natural first overseas market because of its geographic proximity to the United States, but the restaurant also demonstrated that McDonald’s visual identity and operating model could travel beyond its original national market.
The year is sometimes confused with the opening of McDonald’s first restaurant in other major international markets. Japan’s first McDonald’s opened in 1971, while the company entered the United Kingdom in 1974. These later openings helped make the Golden Arches a globally recognizable brand.