Moe,
Lots of useful advice from the others who posted on here, but I see no one answered your "how much time" question. It is very subjective - weather, personal ability, how much work you are willing to put in etc, etc.
To give you an idea, I did nothing but fly when I first started, and it took me about 4 weeks to get the PPL. I think at that point you had to have 45 hours (or was it 40, I can't remember) before you could take the checkride, and I had a little over 50. Some folks do it in exactly 45 hours, others take hundreds of hours. Again its down to the individual.
If you are willing to put in the ground work, study hard and give it your best shot, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't complete the licence in the months you will be there.
And if you and your instructor have the time, come to AirVenture in Oshkosh for a long cross country - you'll love it if you haven't been before
Just be sure to read all the instructions first.
If you can't make it here, I believe there's a DeHavilland Beaver gathering in Toronto in May. Or use your flights to visit the weekend fly-ins and pancake breakfasts. You'll absorb as much useful info at those, along with some hefty carbs, and meet some really neat folk.