Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Apr. 28, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	MDC PARTNERS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000876883
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Trading Symbol	MDCA
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Common Class A
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		51,651,737
Common Class B
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		3,755