TORONTO — When Annemarie Swijtink took the helm of McDonald’s Canada in September, fast-food companies were facing a lot of heat.
Reduced cattle herds had pushed up the price of ground beef, while climate change and crop disease challenged another restaurant staple: coffee. Caught in the middle were consumers fretting about tariff tensions and watching their fast-food favourites inch higher than their desired price range.
Swijtink is now trying to deliver some relief.
She announced Tuesday that McDonald’s Canada will freeze the price of a small cup of coffee at $1 for at least a year and drop the price of its McValue meals to $5 for the same duration.
The meals have cost about $6 since they were introduced in 2024. They include either a Junior Chicken, McDouble or chicken snack wrap bundled with small fries and a fountain drink. A new McValue breakfast segment includes a sausage McMuffin, breakfast burrito, bagel with cream cheese or a sausage McGriddle paired with a small coffee and a hash brown.
Swijtink said the reason for the price freeze is simple: it’s what customers are looking for.
“Canadians are facing challenges and are insecure financially. What we are doing is listening and giving them what they want,” she said.
McDonald’s Canada is able to oblige because some of its relationships with farmers and suppliers span more than 50 years and it’s 1,500 restaurants mean it can find savings from its high volumes, Swijtink said.
Her promise comes as the public perception around fast food has been shifting in recent years. More people than ever are doing double takes every time they swipe their credit card and when it comes to dining out, they’re willing to go wherever will give them the best value.
McDonald’s has not been unscathed. Customers now routinely lament the price of star menu items like the Big Mac or limited time offers like the recent Grinch-themed meals.
“If you’re that consumer, you’re driving up to the restaurant and you’re seeing combo meals could be priced over $10 and that absolutely is shaping value perceptions and shaping value perceptions in a negative way,” global CEO Christopher Kempczinski said on an August earnings call.
“We’ve got to get that fixed.”
Swijtink appears to agree. The Dutch executive, who got her start at McDonald’s in high school and was previously managing director of its Netherlands operations, visited Canadian restaurants in her first few months on the job.
She learned Canadians are far bigger coffee lovers than the Dutch, who she said have more of an affinity for cheese, but most importantly, she realized value is at the heart of what consumers here want.
That’s why she named it her top priority for 2026, followed by innovation.
The playbook seems to be similar across the industry. In recent months, Tim Hortons and Wendy’s have both sold meal deals in Canada and Burger King has also marketed small combos akin to McDonald’s McValue menu in the country.
Swijtink maintains rival offerings aren’t a bad thing.
“The market is really competitive and from a customer perspective, that’s really good because that is always … elevating the bar for us,” she said
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2026.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
