Is McKinsey really a Canadian 'shadow government'?

• By Alexandra Lavoie

PETITION: Show Us The Truth

Provincial and federal governments across Canada must be investigated for hiring a global advisory firm to develop a COVID-19 reopening and economic recovery plan. If you agree, sign this petition.

10,578 signatures
Goal: 15,000 Signatures

Optional email code

First Name

Last Name

Email

Mobile Phone

Send me email updates

Send me text message updates

Address (Street, City, State, Postal Code)

Country AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, the Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicCôte d'IvoireDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorth Macedonia, Republic ofNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestine, State ofPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaRéunionSaint BarthélemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet NamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweÅland Islands

Secure

The use of consulting firms like Deloitte, Accenture, and McKinsey exploded under the Justin Trudeau government. They offer expert advice in several areas such as organization, operation and strategy. Today we know through multiple access to information filings that these firms have infiltrated almost every aspect of the federal government — they act as though they are ministries of the government.

One of these companies is McKinsey, founded in New York in 1926. This company is a global management consulting firm. But the exact role played by this firm is a total mystery because the clients who deal with it are held to very strict confidentiality clauses.

McKinsey also affixes their client’s logo to their completed project report, and they even get emails under addresses belonging to their client, so it is impossible to know what McKinsey is doing while working in government. They act as the federal government without the same ability of the public to look into what they are doing, because as a private company they aren’t subject to access to information laws.

McKinsey has always been controversial, since it has been in the middle of huge conflicts of interest as the opioid crisis in the US.

One of the major clients of McKinsey is Pfizer, and we have learned that McKinsey was awarded the contract to manage the vaccination campaign in Quebec by the provincial government, but its exact role remains unclear.

Here’s what we know so far: in Quebec, the firm advised the Legault government at a cost of $35,000 per day for pandemic management and the vaccination campaign. The government spent $1.7 million and $4.9 million respectively on McKinsey to prepare the reopening plan and the economic recovery plan. 

Under Justin Trudeau’s government, since 2015, 24 contracts totalling $101.6 million have been awarded to McKinsey. But this number continues to increase with parliamentary discoveries.