UBC is ranked 34th in the world (http://www.topuniversities.com/universi ... iversities) and it is like an ivy in Canada. However, if you're set on working in the US post-PhD, I doubt UBC will have the same punch as an American ivy. Generally, Canadian academics attend the same conferences, get published in the same journals as their American counterparts, so other than brand recognition (and the quality of the program itself, of course), there is no disadvantage to attending a Canadian school, I think.