As McDonald’s Canada celebrates 1 billion Happy Meals, raising over $100M for Ronald McDonald House Charities, the City of Mississauga emerges as one of the “Happiest” Regions

Since 2004, a portion of sales from every Happy Meal® at McDonald’s restaurants has helped to support families with seriously ill children at Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) across Canada.* As the program celebrates more than 1 billion Happy Meals sold and $100 million raised for RMHC across Canada, RMHC Toronto is proud to share that Mississauga has been named the Happiest City in Ontario for being a huge supporter through Happy Meal purchases!†

Two men holding babies
Ryan Resmer and Raj Thyriar in the hospital with their newborn twins

Funds raised through the sale of Happy Meals help to support families like the Resmer-Thyriars, who relied on the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Credit Valley Hospital when their twins, Zayn and Zarya, were born prematurely at just twenty-eight weeks. “To be able to warm up lunch seems like such a simple thing,” says dad Ryan, “but when you’re stressed and emotionally exhausted from the overload of information about your children’s medical conditions and the terrible ups and downs of life in the NICU [neo-natal intensive care unit], a friendly smile, a microwave, and somewhere to sit down and eat or take a nap took a massive burden off of our shoulders. I honestly feel the help we got saved my sanity and allowed me to be strong for my babies.”

“Happy Meals are an iconic childhood tradition at McDonald’s, but they also do so much good in supporting families with seriously ill children at RMHC Chapters across Canada,” says Interim Chief Executive Officer, RMHC Toronto, Christina Scicluna. “We’re thankful that our Mississauga community has made such an impact for families in need as Ontario’s Happiest City.”

To mark this important milestone, RMHC Toronto, along with McDonald’s Owner/Operators Frank Magno, Larry McCormick, and Robert Nadeau, celebrated at the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Credit Valley Hospital this week on Thursday, September 19, 2024.

“I’m so proud to be a part of this community as well as this charity,” says Owner/Operator Frank Magno. “It’s heartening to know that our Happy Meals can add up to such a big impact.”

*A portion of the proceeds from the sale of every Happy Meal® and every RMHC® Cookie helps support Ronald McDonald House® and Ronald McDonald Family Room® programs across Canada.

†Based on average daily units of Happy Meal sales from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 on a per city basis, divided it by the total population of that city. Population data sourced from Statistics Canada 2021 Canadian Census Data (1)