McDonald’s first international market was Canada, entered in 1967 as part of its branding expansion.
The company opened its first Canadian restaurant in Richmond, British Columbia, on June 1, 1967. This came more than a decade after Ray Kroc opened the first franchised McDonald’s in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955. Canada became the first country outside the United States to adopt the recognizable McDonald’s restaurant system and visual identity.
The Canadian launch was important because it tested whether McDonald’s standardized menu, service model, restaurant design, and Golden Arches branding could work beyond the American market. The company later expanded into countries including Costa Rica, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Canada is sometimes confused with Puerto Rico, which became an early McDonald’s location in a U.S.-linked market. However, Canada is generally credited as the first international country in McDonald’s global expansion history.