| McDonald's Restaurants of Canada, Limited | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Foundation: | Richmond, British Columbia, Canada (1967) |
| Founder: | George Cohon |
| Location: | 1 McDonald's Place |
| Location City: | Toronto, Ontario |
| Location Country: | Canada |
| Locations: | 1,462 [1] (2022) |
| Key People: | Michèle Boudria, President Jacques Mignault, Chief Operating Officer |
| Area Served: | Canada |
| Industry: | Restaurant |
| Genre: | Fast food |
| Services: | Master franchise |
| Num Employees: | 90,000+[2] (2022) |
| Parent: | McDonald's Corporation |
McDonald's Restaurants of Canada, Limited (French: Les Restaurants McDonald's du Canada Limitée) is the Canadian master franchise of the fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's, owned by the American parent McDonald's Corporation. One of Canada's largest fast-food restaurant chains, the franchise sells food items – including hamburgers, chicken, French fries and soft drinks – all across the country. McDonald's is known for its high fat and calorie foods, but it also has alternatives such as salads, juice and milk. McDonald's was Canada's largest food-service operator before being overtaken by Tim Hortons in 2005.
The logo of McDonald's in Canada can be identified by the red maple leaf on the company's golden arches. The slogans used in Canada are i'm lovin' it in English and in French. McDonald's Canadian operations are headquartered in the North York area of Toronto, Ontario. The current president and CEO of McDonald's in Canada is Michèle Boudria.
Chicago-born George Cohon founded the company. The first store opened in 1967 as the Western Canadian franchisee and operated with the U.S. operations. Cohon was the Eastern Canadian franchise and opened his store in 1968 on Oxford Street West in London, Ontario.[3] In 1971, Cohon merged the two operations to one national operation. Cohon was responsible for developing the eastern Canadian franchises. Western franchise owners opened the first McDonald's restaurant in Canada on June 1, 1967, in Richmond, British Columbia.[4] This McDonald's was the first location opened outside of the United States. As of 2022, McDonald's Canada had 1,462 stores (including restaurants inside many Walmart Canada locations) in Canada, and more than 90,000 Canadian employees.
In the 1980s McDonald's saw massive expansion in Canada. It also was a food sponsor at EXPO 86 with their floating restaurant nicknamed the 'McBarge'.
In 1989 McDonald's was awarded the concessionary rights to the newly built SkyDome in Toronto. One of the requirements was to sell hotdogs, resulting in the first time McDonald's sold the product. Part of the stadium also included the largest McDonald's in Canada. The now closed restaurant was located at the base of the CN Tower; the location was popular with tourists and is now office space.
McDonald's restaurants are present in all of the provinces and territories with the exception of Nunavut. The flagship location opened in 2013 near the Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto.
In 2019, McDonald's Canada donated 50 cents from every medium, large and extra large coffee purchased at these locations, all day long. Last year's event raised more than $10,000 for the Alzheimer Society of Hastings-Prince Edward.[5] In September of that year, McDonald's Canada observed its third annual McDelivery Night.[6]
As of June 2022:[7]
McDonald's Canada faced severe criticism for its use and alleged abuse of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP). Several of its franchises are under federal investigation for abuse of Filipino workers brought into Canada under the TFWP. After a public outcry, McDonald's Canada stated that it would undertake a comprehensive review of its use of TFWP. In a conference call to the franchisees about the program, McDonald's Canada CEO John Betts stated: "the fact of the matter is we are a big bad company corporate you know, bad company. And these poor maligned employees, are who they are ... This has been an attack on our brand ... This is an attack on our people. It's bullshit." He pointed out that he has spoken with Employment Minister Jason Kenney, and the minister fully understands McDonald's Canada's concerns. Following this and other similar controversies, the government halted the TFWP for the entire restaurant industry.
See main article: Rideau Street McDonald's. On May 1st, 2023, a McDonald's franchise in Ottawa, referred to as the Rideau McDonald's due to its location at 99 Rideau, was closed indefinitely after the franchise owners chose to not renew their lease.[8] The Rideau McDonald's had been dubbed as the "World's Worst McDonald's" by the Toronto Star due to its reputation of being a "flashpoint for crime".[9]
In April 2019, Ottawa Police Chief, Charles Bordeleau, wrote a letter to McDonald's Canada CEO, John Betts, stating that "Officers of the Ottawa Police Service attend this location on a daily basis to address issues including vagrancy, liquor licence violations, illicit drug use, and incidents of violence," and that he believed the 99 Rideau location was "breaching your standards of operation".[10] In response, McDonald's Canada reduced the restaurants hours from 24 hours to 6 am to 10 pm.
In January 2023, it was announced that the Rideau McDonald's franchise owners were not renewing their lease and the restaurant would close. In response to the closure, a group of University of Ottawa students organized a fundraiser and food drive referred to as the Rideau McDonald's Farewell March on March 19, 2023.[11] The Farewell March had over 200[12] attendee's and raised over $1,900 for Operation Come Home and VoiceFound.[13]