The cantilever brakes on my rigid fork mountain bike definitely require three fingers and a lot more hand strength to get the same stopping effectiveness as my hybrid with V-brakes and one finger. Both with new pads and carefully tuned. Not better or worse but very different.

But for folks with hand strength issues or arthritis, V-brakes have much better mechanical advantage. The only tricky bit is remembering to use only one finger and modulate pressure carefully.

Both bikes and brake types will handle tires as wide as possible or practical for the frames. The V-brakes have plenty of clearance for the 700x40 tires I usually run on the hybrid. The mountain bike with 700x42 tires has a somewhat tight squeeze due to the Kool Stop Eagle 2 pads being so long and thick they interfere with fully opening on the fork, but I can wiggle the wheel in and out without deflating the tire. I'm planning to swap the Kool Stops for Jagwire canti pads that are even longer but thinner and should offer a bit more clearance.