Do provinces in CA have smog checks like US?

Is insurance automatically good for US driving also and do you get a "card" for US like US insurance companies do for driving in CA?

Ontario has smog checks, the program is called "Drive Clean" it does not have a history of unblemished success and public acceptance. Insurance is automatically valid for use in the US but not Mexico. There's no card just a pink slip called a "dec print", it's the ordinary proof of insurance.

Any one know about this surrendering of valid licenses deal? Is it true you can get the surrendered license back again if necessary? I actually have three valid licenses from different countries, I guess I better not carry them all eh?

In some areas of BC (essentially the Lower Mainland) you will most likely need to pass an AirCare test - http://www.aircare.ca/.

I'm 99% sure that Basic Autoplan insurance from ICBC (Insurance Corp of BC) is valid throughout Canada and the US.