Developers in Toronto are very cheap compared to large cities in the US like NYC and SF. A lot of really good Canadian developers move to the US because they get paid 2-3x as much.
There is very little "startup tech culture" in Toronto itself which is good or bad depending on what you want. That being said Kitchener/Waterloo, although very small, is actually closest feeling I've seen to SV with regards to engineering focus and community. It's about 2 hours outside of Toronto.
Most early stage startup investing in Canada is done by BDC (or Business Development Canada). Even with incubators like Extreme Ventures, the company she is working at in the article did Extreme, the majority of the money they invest is from the government of Canada. Canadian founders I know who have taken Canadian money always say that you are better off taking money from investors in the US.
Canadians, in general, are more risk averse. Even Americans who wouldn't start a company understand what entrepreneurship is about as it is kind of baked into the American raison-d'etre -- but this is not the case in Canada.
CONS: -Canada thinks smaller than SV (not as open to big ideas) -BDC is a big player when it comes to Canadian money, we've had some interactions with them and for the most part they run more like a bank/government organization than they do a VC. They are getting better, but are just not quite there yet. In the end we actually turned down money from them. -The accelerators there are trying...but they are a far way off from being of the same quality as some of the ones down here -When it comes to raising money you normally get a lower valuation and the terms aren't usually as founder friendly
PROS -There are a few bigger players popping up in the Toronto/Kitchener scene that are really helping the culture and community there grow -It's cheaper and talent is easier to find (Waterloo produces some amazing talent) -There are a lot of government grants and tax incentives
There are definitely people in the area worth meeting who are doing some exciting things, but the buzz and excitement and opportunities down here are still greater imo. I'm also partial to the West coast as a general lifestyle choice.