Interesting in some respects, but this column fails to mention what is probably the biggest obstacle to mobility of them all: Skyrocketing housing costs in the cities (especially Toronto area) where the opportunities are. Kids who grow up there have a big advantage in accessing local employment opportunities because they can live at home or can get "loans" for down payments and other financial help from parents who have in most cases benefited hugely from the housing boom.
At the same time, the government has been letting our 300,000+ annual immigrants settle where they wish, and most of them want that to be Toronto. This is inflating demand for housing in TO and driving prices even farther beyond the reach of kids from rural and small-town Canada. No wonder they're stuck where the opportunities aren't.