35 million but whatever. (edit: this was in response to it having 25 million people, not 36 million) It's kind of like saying that California is a really tiny state.

That's a weird comparison, I guess you say that because California's population (39 million) is close to that of Canada's (36.3 million)? No doubt California is diverse, and by no means homogenous, but Canada... is physically huge, and relatively speaking, very sparsely populated. This naturally leads to more diversity within an already "small" population. To develop a business with a target market of "all of California" would be much easier than to develop one with a target market of "all of Canada."

Not really. The vast majority of those 35 million live in 3 really small areas. Just like the vast majority of california lives on the coast. California is a physically huge state by the way, that is fairly sparsely populated in big swaths of the state.

Unlike Canada, California benefits from a pool of ~290 million other people who self-select to move there with 0 barriers other than having a few dollars to buy a gray hound ticket.

Is the cost of housing a barrier?

If you're asking this seriously... yes it is a barrier, but not as great as Immigration/moving to a completely new country.

Which is not to discount California's tremendous housing crunch. I am merely pointing out that its a much lower risk for a young single US citizen to just move to CA, try it out for a few months, if they can't get a job or make it, then just drive back. It is much harder for people from outside the country to do the same.

Not really. The cost of housing is huge and a barrier if you are not in tech, But if you move for tech you can definitely find a place and pay the crazy rent with your new salary.

That's very true.

As per the comment below, the population between Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal is about a third of the total population (about 12M).

Bit pedantic but this really is a far cry from being the "vast majority" of Canada's population.

Golden Horseshoe is 9.2 million alone. So 12 million is definitely on the low side.

Yeah, I guess (I was curious, and you're right, about 1/3 live in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montréal metro areas), but (to me) the culture varies a lot more between Toronto and Montréal than between SF and, I don't know, some of the more rural parts of California. Thinking like a business, the difference in regulations is much more significant as well.

California is similar in population but is part of the US. So if you base your company in California you have easy access to the rest of the US, whereas if you're in Canada you do not have the same easily addressable market.