PACP – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Relationship with McKinsey & Company – December 2, 2025

Key Messages

• To remain competitive in the global marketplace and support the Government of Canada’s efforts toward digital-first, user-centered programs, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has and continues to undertake significant innovation and transformation.
• Following solicitations in 2018 and 2019, IRCC awarded two contracts through a competitive process to McKinsey and Company Inc. to provide advice, expertise and operating models on IRCC’s efforts to transform, digitize and optimize service delivery.
• The engagements with McKinsey & Co. provided IRCC with the expertise to execute digital transformation and accelerate service delivery improvements, and laid the foundation for full-scale modernization under Digital Platform Modernization Phase 3 (DPM3).

Background

• IRCC has seen significant increases in the volumes of applications in many lines of business in recent years. This context, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, has made it imperative for us to transform and modernize our processes to improve the delivery of services to our clients.
• Leading up to 2018, volumes across IRCC’s programs were rapidly growing, client expectations for fast and simple digital services were increasing, and IRCC’s technology infrastructure and operating model were unable to cope.

Need for External Engagement

• In the past, while IRCC had met increased pressures with additional labour, the Department still struggled to fulfill its service commitments. In its 2017 Plan, the Department committed to several initiatives to increase efficiencies and reduce processing times, including changes to how work was distributed and handled across its service delivery network.
• With volume growth outpacing capacity, this model was no longer sustainable and there was a need to align the innovations and talent of the Department into an integrated service transformation strategy.
• The pandemic increased the imperative to improve processes and transform service delivery to digital.

Contract Overview

• Between 2018 and 2021, two contracts were awarded to McKinsey & Co., both competitive against an existing Government of Canada (Public Services and Procurement Canada [PSPC]) supply arrangement to help design and execute a service transformation strategy and roadmap:
  • Contract one ($2.9M, 2018–2019) was awarded within IRCC’s authority for McKinsey & Co. to conduct an outside-in assessment of IRCC’s performance client service and organizational agility, and to provide a strategy, operating model and roadmap for operational and digital transformation.
  • Contract two ($24.8M, 2019–2021) was awarded within PSPC’s authority for McKinsey & Co. to help mobilize, implement and scale IRCC’s service transformation with a focus on operational improvements (i.e., lean), to initiate digital transformation (i.e., digital journey labs), and supporting functions (i.e., transformation office and digital talent engine).
• Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, IRCC was faced with an immediate need to further accelerate the development and implementation of digital products and services, to manage increased volumes and sustain core client service resulting in the 2019 contract being amended.
• The amendment increased contract value by $8.475M from $16,373,700 to $24,848,700, and the end date of the contract was changed from June 30, 2022 to December 31, 2021.
• Both contracts were awarded in compliance with the integrity of the procurement process by public servants and public office holders, the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector, and the Directive of Conflict of Interest.

Lasting Impact: Foundation for Full-scale modernization efforts

• The engagements with McKinsey & Co. provided IRCC with the expertise to execute digital transformation, helped IRCC deliver digital solutions and improved processes, and most importantly, mobilize new operating models and iterative ways of working, all of which has laid a foundation for IRCC’s full-scale modernization efforts in DPM3.
• Had IRCC not engaged the services of the private sector, improvements to service delivery would have continued, but at a significantly slower pace.
• Without IRCC’s new in-house transformation skillset and culture that enables continuous digital delivery, crucial work like bringing citizenship applications online at the outset of the pandemic or automating certain temporary resident visa application activities, improving bulk processing, would have been delayed. This would have further exacerbated backlogs, ultimately resulting in longer wait times and decreased client satisfaction.