I do believe the Canadian institutions are higher quality banks. Thinking banks like National and Royal. I know this may seem crazy to say right now because Wells Fargo has done so well over the last couple of years here but I do believe some of the runup in price was in anticipation of the removal of the asset cap it had placed on it that resulted in dead returns for the better part of 7 years.
The Canadian banking model tends to lead to slower, but steadier growth. Canadian banks operate under one of the most conservative and tightly regulated financial systems in the world. Canadian banks generally have lower risk loan books, because underwriting is a lot more conservative and they are required to have higher quality capital buffers.
I don't think Wells Fargo as a long-term buy and hold is a bad play whatsoever. I just choose to go with the financial system and companies I understand a little better and are tighter regulated.