Can you be more specific? Quality of life in Europe can vary greatly :)

I've considering applying for Canadian residency last year as I was looking for a new job but I quickly gave up.

There are many places in Europe with similar or even lower CoL all things considered, better social benefits, and a lot more opportunities.

Unless you specifically want to join an early stage startup, I don't see where Canada wins. But I might have missed something.

If you're well educated. If you're not then you'll find yourself working much harder in Canada to stay afloat than in Europe.

It does not match my own experience. I worked a few years in Canada (Québec) and liked it very much. I found that the work-life balance was much better than in France. It was more constant throughout the year. People have fewer vacations than in France 3-4 weeks/year with a few sick days vs 6-8 weeks/year but the daily working hours are lower (9-5) with quick lunch break where in France it is more 9-7 with a long lunch break (only in the private sector and in IT). The more constant working pace is much better for work. In France it is very complex to schedule a meeting when everybody can attend (there's always someone in vacation) and in summer it is nightmare for managers to find people to make a project going forward. The mood at work was much better in Canada, people were more friendly, less stressed due to a better organization (easier than in France) and also to be fair due to a lower unemployment rate. I did not have the impression to work more than in France to stay afloat, but maybe because because it was going smoother.

At a guess you were living in the cities?

Yes 3,5 years in Montreal (I really miss that city). I am sure that the experience is very different from Toronto and Vancouver.

I have a lot of relatives in Alberta. And it seems like the oil industry there is providing a lot of opportunity for people without college degrees to make a good living. But of course, that's just Alberta. I can't comment on the rest of the country.

Yes, but that's very hard work and quite a few of the people that moved to the territories to participate in the boom there already lost their shirt due to the prolonged drop in the price of oil. Alberta is a bit different because the extraction is easier.

You can make money in lumber, oil, mining, fishing and lots of other industries but it will not be 'easy' money by any definition, and if you get out without injury then you should consider yourself lucky. Long days, very hard work.

Yes, logging and fishing are the most dangerous professions by far according to [1].

[1] http://time.com/4326676/dangerous-jobs-america/

I'm in the process of moving to Toronto from the US. Any tips on good tech companies to work for. :)

Be ready to take a big salary haircut. Toronto is not SF or NY, but it's still expensive, and you'll earn about 50% less in USD terms.

As a Canadian, I heartily recommend to anyone in the tech business - work remotely for EUR, USD, GBP, or CHF or relocate to the US. You can make good friends anywhere, but a 50% salary difference plus higher taxes takes a lot more to overcome.

Take a look at: Shopify, Wattpad, Pager Duty, Uken Games, Opencare, Quandl, The Score (ESPN), Wealthsimple, Top Hat, Event Mobi.

Freshbooks or Shopify.

Head to New York or California.