Canada became McDonald’s first international market in 1967.
The company’s first restaurant outside the United States opened in Richmond, British Columbia, that year. The move was a major branding step: McDonald’s took its name, signs, restaurant design, and standardized service concept into another country while remaining close to its original American base.
Canada was a natural early expansion market because of its geographic proximity and strong economic connections with the United States. The Canadian business later developed into one of the company’s largest national operations outside America.
Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom were also important early international markets, but they followed Canada. The Canadian milestone therefore refers specifically to the first country outside the United States, not to the first country in every later region.