Tory and Bloc Leaders Call for Government to Reveal McKinsey Contracts

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre (L) and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick; Adrian Wyld)

Leaders of opposition parties said on Jan. 10 they will push the federal government to reveal details on contracts that were awarded to the multinational consulting firm McKinsey.

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet held press conferences in Ottawa to announce their plan to scrutinize the matter.

“We need to know what this money was for, what influence McKinsey has had in our government,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre said all the opposition parties will team up to pass a motion requesting all government records pertaining to McKinsey be made public, including contracts and all forms of communications.

Blanchet didn’t say whether he thought something nefarious was afoot, but that “we might have our suspicions” that are being discussed privately.

“Our job is to make sure that we know as much as possible, and for all, each and every detail that we will not know, the population of both Quebec and Canada will have to ask questions to themselves: Why did we vote for this government?” he said.

Blanchet was alluding to the fact that the government might elect not to reveal details of the contracts.

Both leaders stopped short of calling a public inquiry into the matter, at this time.

Poilievre said the investigative work will be carried out by the Commons government operations committee.

This is the same committee that has been looking into the high cost of $54 million to develop the ArriveCan application, but it’s been hitting roadblocks in obtaining a full picture of the contracted work.

Contracts

Public broadcaster CBC revealed on Jan. 4 that contracts awarded to McKinsey have dramatically increased since the Liberals took power in 2015, spending 30 times more for the firm’s services than the Harper government.

CBC said it found $66 million in contracts to the firm, and questioned whether McKinsey’s involvement is helping shape the country’s immigration policy due to information provided by sources from Immigration Canada (IRCC).

Poilievre wondered how the department can be so “incompetent” after paying $25 million to McKinsey, noting the massive backlogs for processing files.

On the same issue, Blanchet called the results of association between IRCC and McKinsey “pitiful.”

Blanchet also said he had concerns about the firm having an ideological impact on the government’s decision to dramatically increase immigration, with the potential impact on services and housing.

The country welcomed a record of 431,645 new immigrants last year and plans to reach 500,000 new permanent residents annually by 2025.

A 2017 report by the government mandated Advisory Council on Economic Growth, then chaired by the head of McKinsey, Dominic Barton, had presented similar figures.

Barton then became Canada’s ambassador to China from 2019 to 2021, and he is a co-founder of the Century Initiative, a group advocating to bring the country’s population to 100 million by 2100.

McKinsey was contacted for comment.