Canada's close proximity to the US positions Canadian companies to be viewed as a 'near shore' alternative according to Outsourcing News.

"Our overall labor costs put Canada midway between the U.S. and India, and we have other advantages like geographic proximity to the U.S. market," said Scott. "But a lot more focus is needed if Canada's near shore IT services industry is to keep pace with job losses in other areas. We found that if no action is taken at least 75,000 of Canada's current 550,000 IT jobs could migrate offshore by 2010, but with right actions, IT jobs could increase by 165,000." Via PriceWaterhouseCoopers

I can tell you from personal experience the US market is wide open and friendly to services from Canadians. Since 1998 I have been actively doing business in the US and founded a business in Houston.

I remember getting 1.57 Canadian for 1.00 US in 2001 but today there is only a 10% difference between the Canadian dollar and US currency. Americans are great customers, progressive thinkers, and nice to do business with.

I highly recommend any Canadian company looking to diversify their source of income to look seriously at the US market.