Agreed, this is the elephant in the room and by far and away the primary cause of the tech exodus.

In my experience compensation in the US (comparing major cities to major cities) is 2-5x higher than in Canada. I'd hazard a guess and say I'm right now making 4x what my job would be paying in Canada.

Another big problem is that cost of living continues to rise in Canadian tech hubs - Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are all astronomically expensive relative to compensation, and costs continue to rise rapidly. Despite some upwards movement in recent years in tech salaries, the COL increases have often outpaced it.

To Canadian employers who are serious about reversing the brain drain: you have to find ways to pay talent more, everything else is just details.