That's quite the Kool-Aid. I am also from Ontario and have the exact opposite conclusions as you.
> It subsidizes the rest of Canada (the "have-nots"), but it can afford to do so.
This is only a very recent phenomena that they are not getting equalization payments [1]. Even then, it's mostly because of the bottom provinces falling even further than Ontario rising. Don't even be tempted to blame this on the rural areas as Toronto alone accounts for about half the population.
> To give you an idea of how sophisticated Ontario is, most Hollywood comedians and a large percentage of writers are originally from the Toronto, ON area because of their writing and self-production abilities.
Such a sophisticated engine cannot keep them?
> Ontario universities have a direct brain-drain pipeline to SV, but this will help them return later in their careers.
From my personal experience, other than interns and students, I don't know a single Canadian who opted to build a career in the US and later to return.
> It subsidizes the rest of Canada (the "have-nots"), but it can afford to do so.
This is only a very recent phenomena that they are not getting equalization payments [1]. Even then, it's mostly because of the bottom provinces falling even further than Ontario rising. Don't even be tempted to blame this on the rural areas as Toronto alone accounts for about half the population.
> To give you an idea of how sophisticated Ontario is, most Hollywood comedians and a large percentage of writers are originally from the Toronto, ON area because of their writing and self-production abilities.
Such a sophisticated engine cannot keep them?
> Ontario universities have a direct brain-drain pipeline to SV, but this will help them return later in their careers.
From my personal experience, other than interns and students, I don't know a single Canadian who opted to build a career in the US and later to return.
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equalization_payments_in_Canad...