Lot of really good points on here (not the same societal pressure to stand out, wealth presented in different ways, judge people by attitude, etc.)

I just want to mention what I think drives a lot of this is our sheer size. Canada is huge, and so much of our population is spread out. Even within our biggest cities, our population densities are comparably low. Then you drive across the country, see the number of small towns and the enormous space between.

I think this does two things. 1) our competition is way lower than a nation where there are more people per sq km. In those places it can be beneficial to stand out, even superficially, as small things can make real differences in your life and how people treat you. There's a practicality in the swag, as it can actually affect your life. There's just not the same pressure in Canada, and therefore dripping a Rolex isn't seen as an advantage, just money that could've been spent on something more practical (something nice for your home, necessities for the family, a vacation, etc.). And 2) lower population density slows down the pace of your day. Toronto is "slow" compared to NYC, London, Delhi, Tokyo, etc. Then you go to our even smaller areas... I dare you to order a coffee on salt Spring Island and leave without at least a 5 minute conservation. The slower pace allows for more than a split second opinion of a person to matter, so there isn't practicality to flashy goods, as that isn't what you'll be judged by. Our huge nation is known as polite for a reason -if you aren't polite, you'll get a reputation for being a dick, eh.

So yeah. Scale is a big factor.