California vs Montreal is cherry picking the data. You could easily say Chicago (cheap) vs Vancouver (not cheap). The major economic tech centres in Canada are

California vs Montreal is cherry picking the data. You could easily say Chicago (cheap) vs Vancouver (not cheap). The major economic tech centres in Canada are Toronto and less so, Vancouver. Montreal and Ottawa (because that's where Shopify is HQ'd) are the next biggest. Toronto and Vancouver are hugely unaffordable when it comes to housing; Montreal and Ottawa are much more affordable.