PACP – Competitive Process Overview—Mckinsey and Company Inc. – December 2, 2025

Key Messages

• McKinsey & Company Inc. were awarded two contracts for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), following fair, open and transparent competitive processes in 2018 and 2019.
• The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) identified two IRCC-specific issues in Report 5 of its 2024 contract review:
  • IRCC answered bidder questions but didn’t document why it didn’t revise the Request for Proposal (RFP). In response, IRCC now requires a mandatory Questions and Answers disposition sheet for all competitive procurements.
  • Security clearances were validated late for five consultants. IRCC now logs security requirements in its financial system and works with Personnel Security to ensure consultant profiles are current at contract award.
• Since 2018–2019, IRCC implemented the following lessons learned:
  • Conflict of interest and non-disclosure forms are now required by default.
  • Previous contract deliverables are recommended to be disclosed if they are related to any follow-on solicitations.
  • Contractors who contributed to pre-solicitation work are recommended to be publicly disclosed when the solicitation is launched.

2018 & 2019 Contracts

• In 2018 IRCC had a requirement for an experienced strategic external partner for the development of a service transformation strategy; future-oriented operating model; service transformation roadmap; and to provide recommendations regarding how the Department should organize to deliver the transformation.
• In 2019, IRCC had a new requirement for Transformation Office Support Services including to enable the Department to manage and execute its Service Transformation Strategy, maximize the potential benefits of the transformational initiatives and provide ongoing guidance towards the evolution of the transformation roadmap, implementation approach and plan.
• The two distinct requirements were competed through the use of an existing Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) supply arrangement which resulted in contract awards by IRCC (2018) and PSPC (2019 - on behalf of IRCC) to McKinsey and Company Inc.
• Following the 2024 OAG report, IRCC continues to promptly align with updates to PSPC procurement policies and directives. A recent example includes the enhancement of procurement approaches in accordance with the Strengthened Requirements for Procurement of Professional Services, particularly when using PSPC’s mandatory methods of supply.
• IRCC remains committed to upholding best practices by requiring employees to proactively disclose any conflicts of interest as they arise. Specifically, for IRCC-led procurements, bid evaluation team members must review and formally acknowledge the updated bid evaluation guidelines, which have been revised to further mitigate conflicts of interest risks.

Supporting Facts and Figures

PSPC Supply Arrangement

• A supply arrangement is a method of supply used that can be leveraged to procure goods and services. They include a set of predetermined conditions that apply to bid solicitations and resulting contracts.
• Supply arrangements allow PSPC and client departments such as IRCC to solicit bids from a pool of pre-qualified suppliers for specific requirements. They save time and money by prequalifying suppliers and establishing the basic terms and conditions that will apply to a specified range of goods or services.

Background

2018 Contract—IRCC Service Transformation Strategy and Roadmap

• This procurement process was processed by IRCC within its delegated contracting authority (in 2018 IRCC contracting authority was $2M contract entry and $1M amendment).
• As per the supply arrangement procedures, 16 suppliers pre-qualified under the Business Services/Change Management Services and Project Management Services categories were invited to bid; 11 (including major consulting firms such as KPMG, Ernst & Young, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Deloitte, etc) chosen by the IRCC Project Authority and five randomly chosen by PSPC.
• A RFP outlining the bidding process was sent to suppliers on June 27, 2018; IRCC answered 13 supplier questions and shared responses with participating bidders; and, the RFP closed on July 13, 2018, at which time two bids were received [Redacted]
• Upon completion of the technical evaluation by IRCC personnel, only one bidder (Mckinsey and Company Inc.) was found to be compliant while the other did not meet the minimum mandatory criteria. Financial evaluations were completed on August 1, 2018, after Mckinsey and Company Inc. was found to meet the mandatory minimum criteria. The contract was awarded on August 8, 2018, with a value of $1,593,300.
• The contract was increased on December 5, 2018, by $339,000.00 and again on January 29, 2019, by $958,522.50. The additional work and deliverables were specifically defined and managed with Task Authorizations. The contract ended on August 7, 2019, with a final value of $2,890,922.50.
• There were no supplier complaints filed with the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman (OPO) nor the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) on this procurement.

2019 Contract­—Transformation Office Support Services

• This procurement process was above $3.75M and managed by PSPC.
• As per the supply arrangement procedures, all 38 suppliers qualified in the Business Services/Change Management Services and the Project Management Services categories were invited to bid for the contract.
• A RFP outlining the bidding process was sent to suppliers on April 2019; IRCC answered 16 supplier questions and shared responses with participating bidders; and, the RFP closed on May 3, 2019, at which time a single bid was received.
• IRCC personnel completed the technical evaluation while PSPC assessed the financial bids. Mckinsey and Company Inc. was found to be compliant. The contract with a value of $16,373,700 was awarded by PSPC on June 26, 2019.
• The contract was amended on May 8, 2020 and November 10, 2020 for administrative purposes with no financial implication. The contract was amended for a third time on March 5, 2021, to increase the value by $8,475,000 to expedite the build of departmental capabilities to sustain, scale and accelerate the digital transformation. The contract ended on December 31, 2021, with a final value of $24,848,700. 
• During the solicitation period, questions were raised by a bidder implying that, as the incumbent, Mckinsey and Company Inc. would have an advantage. PSPC (with input from IRCC) shared the question and response to all bidders specifying that new requirements were not a continuation of work but a new set of deliverables based on transformation recommendations. The summary of findings from external expert recommendations (including Mckinsey and Company Inc. and Gartner) was made available to assist bidders.
• There were no supplier complaints filed with the OPO nor the CITT on this procurement.