SF a condo might be 1M, but getting paid 250k+ for a job is fairly common.
In Toronto the condo might be 1M (CAD), but getting paid 250k+ CAD is not common.
By all accounts Toronto is more expensive than SF
Also, interest rates are 1% lower in Canada (albeit on shorter terms), and property taxes are roughly half.
This isn’t to say that homes are “cheap”, but there’s more to the story.
(Aside, I have lived in both cities for a considerable number of years.)
No doubt, there's also a great deal of greed and wealth signaling from the general population (especially among upper middle class) as well. Competition around high ranking school areas comes to mind. Not to mention rental properties are pretty much the go-to choice of passive income building that most people go for.
I would bet that if multiple property ownership was penalized by high taxes, real estate prices would come down real fast.
If you're in tech of course. SF and Toronto have many other professionals living in. How's the median salaries comparing?