A 65-year-old man spent eight years in Toronto during his 30s. He paid into Canada’s pension system. Then he returned south and logged 32 years at a U.S. manufacturer. Now retired, he figured those Canadian years vanished. “I guess those years don’t count.” They do. But only because of a 1984 treaty few have heard of. The difference adds roughly $449 a month for life. Real money. Yet thousands of cross-border workers never claim it. They miss out on benefits they earned. And this quiet loss sits against a louder crisis: entire industries now scramble for workers as immigration policies tighten. The U.S.-Canada Social Security Totalization Agreement pools credits from both countries. It lets people qualify even if they fall short of the usual 10-year minimum in one place. Service Canada still requires at least one valid contribution. Eight years clears that bar. The treaty treats U.S. work history as proof of workforce attachment. Claims move forward.…