Canada's more liberal immigration policy, which is attracting educated and highly skilled immigrants, may have something to do with their doing so well. Over time the average education level and IQ of Canadians should end up higher than Americans.
Thankfully the US still attracts the very best immigrant entrepreneurs, such as Elon Musk.
Canada does not have a strong entrepreneurial culture, however. While there is a fairly new program for startups, the immigration policy is generally geared towards bringing in people for traditional jobs, which tends to have the opposite effect on incomes.
What did happen in the mid-2000s was a rise in commodity prices. By 2010 we were seeing record high prices for some commodities. Commodities are what Canada does and it stands to reason that incomes for everyone will tend to rise as demand for extracting those commodities increases.
I'm not sure how true this is anymore. There have been numerous changes in the last decade that have made the environment very entrepreneur-friendly. It's still a mixed bag, true ... but things do look like they're on an upswing here. Link below is to a 2013 report (Canada at a glance)
> Canada does not have a strong entrepreneurial culture, however.
I agree..also we do not have the same level of capital available to fund new ideas.
However I think that the longer the internet is around which allows (for the most part) the same ideas, information and tools to everybody the less cultural differences are going to matter as everything is becoming border-less and super competitive...the only differences will be languages and local regulations.
Thankfully the US still attracts the very best immigrant entrepreneurs, such as Elon Musk.