Sure, but that's true everywhere I've lived - people want to get into "good" schools.
But the difference is that in the US, it's pretty common for families or students to aspire to the "best". That's true even in middle and low-middle class families. That's something I never saw in Canada.
That kind of thinking in Canada is limited to the upper class and old money in Canada.
Like a lot of things in Canada the bell curve is flatter -- but it doesn't mean there isn't a bell curve.