As a Canadian living in the US, all I can say is that was lame.
For starters, Canada has a neo-con government. Yes, they're somewhat to the left of the Republicans, but they've only just gotten a majority, so give them time.
Second, that page shows a picture of a beer from Unibroue. I've found that there are beers from that same brewery that you can't find in Canada (at least not easily) that are available in the US. And the selection of american craft beers make Canada's look like a joke. Plus beer is cheaper here.
Finally, and most importantly for people here, Canada's VC industry is non-existent. And the current government isn't really a fan of entrepreneurship unless it involves taking something out of the ground.
Plus the high today in sunny Silicon valley is expected to be in the 80s.
That's funny - but our current PM Stephen Harper isn't exactly a towering paragon of liberty and justice. He also has much more direct power over how the country works than Obama or Romney.
... although there's a great discussion to be had about free health care making it much easier to be a startup/entrepreneur/freelancer.
> "Depending on where you settle, cost of living is lower than SF or NYC"
Quite true, and your compensation will drop to match, and then some. I've done the math many times, my QOL in Manhattan is substantially higher than if I took a job in Vancouver or Toronto.
A lot of Canadians don't seem to fully grasp just how wide the salary gap is, even disregarding taxation differences. I've had cocky Torontonian recruiters contact me saying money is no object, and then go completely silent when they hear my current range.
Heck, one of my former employers ended up opening a dev office in Toronto and offered its Canadian expat devs a route back - but with "market adjustments" to salary.
> "quality of life is better"
Depends on how you measure it? If you're very much into the semi-urban lifestyle with easy access to nature, then sure, it's unequivocally better. There's more to QOL than being liberal and having universal health care (which admittedly is pretty awesome).
> "And if you are a Canadian living in the States, what the hell are you doing over there?"
If my currently amazing startup employer decides to become very lame (as startups tend to do as they age), I can throw a stone out the window and hit 5 equally cool startups looking to hire, working with talented, well-funded people. Call me again when Toronto and Vancouver can offer me that type of security.
The problem with the tech scene in Canada is that good jobs at good companies are very few and far between. And once you find yourself into such a position it is both highly coveted by everyone else around you, and you have few options at your disposal should shit go south. Very pro-employer, very anti-employee.
In the US my "backup" plan is working with more talented, well-funded people on some other thing. In Canada my "backup" plan involves drop ceilings and fluorescent lighting.