I have always held the belief that people who live in a country as large as Canada and the United States follow this pattern:

Cities on the coasts, the outerlying areas of these countries are filled with people who are more intellectual, more worldly, more philosophical, more business savvy, better educated and more tolerant than their inland countrymen.

I think this has to do with being a port city to start with. They're exposed to more than just themselves. They're exposed to other countries, other points of view, other peoples etc.

I believe that's added to by people from the inland areas who mirror this mindset, often feeling uncomfortable and out of place in their hometowns. They move to these outerlying cities thus bolstering the population of intelligent, insightful people.

Follow this link to see how this has recently been illustrated, hands down.

smarter people on the outside

It also shows that women are smarter. :)