British Columbia had McDonald’s first restaurant outside the United States, opened in 1967.
McDonald’s international expansion began when the company opened a restaurant in Richmond, British Columbia, near Vancouver. The opening marked the first step in turning an American regional chain into an international restaurant brand.
The Canadian location introduced the McDonald’s name, Golden Arches, standardized service model, and familiar menu to a market outside the United States. Canada later became one of McDonald’s largest and most established national markets.
This fact is sometimes confused with the opening of McDonald’s first restaurant in another overseas market. Canada is geographically outside the United States but is part of North America; the first restaurant outside North America opened later, in Costa Rica in 1970. The 1967 Canadian opening is therefore the relevant milestone for the company’s first international location.