Big Mac, big manager: Yellowknife McDonald's boss named best in Canada

The man in charge of Yellowknife's Big Macs is also a pretty big deal himself, it turns out.

Alex Bornilla was named the best McDonald's manager in Canada back in October.

"I wouldn't say I'm the best manager, but I surround myself with great crew," says the self-effacing 34-year-old.

Despite his reservations about taking credit for the award, he's clearly passionate about bringing the best out of his employees.

"To me it's almost like teaching the kids and the crew, and unlocking their potential too. They always tell me stuff like, 'I don't think I can be the next crew trainer or team lead.'

"Once we get rolling and training starts happening, it's like, 'Look what you're doing, look where you're at.'"

Got his start at 16

Bornilla started working at McDonald's in Winnipeg when he was 16. He'd moved to Canada from the Philippines three years earlier, in 1995.

"My mom and dad worked hard, and I wanted to help. I wanted to be able to buy my own school stuff, not bother them with that," he says.

Starting at the bottom of the ladder, he kept getting promoted and taking on more responsibility.

"You know running a multi-million-dollar business; back in the day when I was a teenager, no way, that's impossible, sort of thing. But yet, here we are."

In 2003, he moved north to Yellowknife with his wife Sousanh Chanthalangsy — now a well-known local chef and food truck operator — who he'd met as a co-worker at McDonald's.

He's been managing the local franchise since then, and says he still finds it rewarding after all these years.

His favourite part?

"Teaching responsibility, showing [young people] what it's like in the real world. Sometimes you go to a job and it's one strike, you're out. Here we kind of ease them up to it."

"Most of them take it with them when they go to university, the confidence they've built up when they were here. They tell me, 'My teacher really likes when I do presentations, because I'm confident, I talk.'"

The award came with an etched glass plate, which Bornilla keeps in his office. He also got a $700 bonus.

Characteristically, Bornilla says he took his employees out for drinks with the winnings.