Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Feb. 22, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Trading Symbol	MDCA
Entity Registrant Name	MDC PARTNERS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000876883
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float	$ 0.0
Common Class A
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		0
Common Class B
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		3,755