I agree with your opinions. Speaking as someone who received three degrees from Canadian universities. As for U of Waterloo, I have to admit that it did produce super stars. I also met many UW students during my undergraduate co-op years and, in my opinion, they were just so-so.

I guess you are referring to Bartley at U of Calgary. Based on his publication record, he is probably good enough for a PhD degree. If you are referring to Steven Norman, from research point of view he is a loser though he might be an excellent teacher. His father was a math prof at Queen's (Dan Norman). Steven, who received his PhD from Stanford, was denied tenure at Calgary. That's why he is a lecturer only.

It is my observation that it is extremely difficult to be an excellent teacher and an excellent researcher at the same time. Simply because both require lots of time. In my own opinion, being an excellent teacher is much easier than being a excellent researcher.