The
food (and packaging) cost of Big Mac in Canada was $1.14 in 2016 (
https://imgur.com/3oWuRHw). That retailed for $5.99 at the time. Due to economies of scale, McDonalds is able to put the food cost at 19%, much lower than the average in Canada of about 35%. $1.14 paid for the 2 beef patties, the bun, the sauce, the lettuce, the cheese, the pickles, the onions, the paper box that it came in.
McDonalds gets stuff cheap, but they also cut costs. McDonalds uses "recons" (aka, dried onions reconstituted with water), in order to keep costs low. Beef is a commodity, so no matter how much clout they have, there will still be bottom limits to pricing. Still, they've massively contributed to the use of feed lots in North America, which the taxpayers subsidize in water cleanup. Those burger patties are no longer cooked to order, but are cooked in batches and kept in steam warmers until needed. The buns, while raised with yeast, are also mixed in a way that introduces as much air as possible to cut yeast costs and get the same lift; they also use dough conditioners like
Calcium Sulfate (gypsum) to help with rise and colour instead of more expensive ones regular bakeries will use like Diastatic Malt Powder (Malted Barley Flour). The cheese is processed cheese, obviously. In Canada, processed cheese is only required to have 51% real dairy ingredients, and often has gelatin, water and starches as filler.
For all the hate on (some justified) for McDonalds, they are also one of the cleanest, most well run restaurants. By keeping food cost down, they can (and do) dedicate more money to sanitation and cleanliness than many places. They also get reputable, clean meat, produce and other food products. While any food contamination at McDonalds gets a lot of attention, on a sheer scale level, they have magnitudes fewer food illness and contamination complaints than just about any other restaurant or chain on the planet.
McDonalds is the Molson/Labatts of the restaurant world. They get great economies of scale, and cut a few corners to keep things cheap (but not bottom-of-the-barrel cheap) and produce a passable, economical and safe product that can still be called a burger.
To be able to produce a burger for cheaper food cost than McDonalds is next to impossible. Even other chains can't match what McDonalds is able to do. Those that claim they can are lying or willing to cut corners at the cost of public safety. This is what Doug Ford is asking beer makers to do; produce something cheaper than the Big 3 already do (and already trim as much fat from the chain to do so).
You don't want cheaper food. Trust me.