Here to in Boston @TomSrOfBoston lol. Not like Washington DC that gets shutdown with two inches of snow.
I cannot speak to western Canada but I find Quebec to be a wonderful place that offers a very different culture than the USA. The eastern part of Canada (above Maine) is a lot like northern Maine in that the jobs are rare and most try to get by doing non-high tech occupations. Not a whole lot of opportunity there for recent grads either. One needs to venture closer to the population centers for work that would require extensive college studies.
On the whole I do believe Canada is a safer society than the USA. One only needs to compare crime stats. The USA is an incredibly violent society. It is one of the most violent on the planet if not the most violent (aside from an active war zone). But even when war zones are included, the USA may beat those war torn counties with our violence.