Vancouver is quite expensive, I'll be honest. If you are okay with a commute, you can live in surrey, Langley, or even abbotsford/chilliwack. Long commute to Vancouver, but anywhere from 10-30+% cheaper rent last I checked.

Canada should be seen as a time-delayed America in a cultural+political sense. A thing that happens in america will generally occur in a similar manner 1-10 years later here. Our Liberal and NDP (Progressive) parties continually move further to the right at differing paces, and all of our parties & leaders have major issues (in differing amounts):

Trudeau (LPC) is a proven corrupt man who has abandoned the working class more every time he shuts down a major strike (every major strike).

Poilievre (CPC) is a less charismatic, cryptofascistic version of trump, and is very likely to win the next national elsction. This could be any time between tomorrow and Oct 20, 2025 and could be catastrophic for Canadians.

Singh (NDP) is a very lovely man, but has a tendency to make decisions that give his party less bargaining power (See: canceling supply and trade agreement without trying to use it as a threat first)