Many would say that comparing San Mateo, arguably part of silicon valley (the center of the technology business world-wide), to Vancouver (we have no real industry unless you count tourism or money laundering[0]) is at best disingenuous.
Vancouver may have "no industry" relative to SV, but it is a veritable black hole for tech on the west coast of Canada. The same rat race of high-skilled, well-paying jobs only being available in HCoL cities is just as much of an issue north of the border. The even smaller gap between compensation and CoL in Vancouver, Toronto, etc. just serves to make things more miserable.
[0] https://complyadvantage.com/knowledgebase/vancouver-money-la...