If I could afford it I would live in Vancouver, and Toronto, in spite of the bleak winters, ain't too bad either (certainly better than Buffalo or Detroit).

I once had Toronto explained to me as the most "American" city in North America, in spite of all the pictures of the Queen.  It has ethnic neighborhoods, lots of immigrants and second and third generation types, subways (pretty good ones too), skyscrapers, condos, billboards, freeways, lots of cars, American English (I can't tell the difference), and largely American labor and business cultures.  Canada doesn't seem to have as all the guns, including Toronto.