Outofcontrol
Sidestep:
The majority of Canadian Airspace is uncontrolled below FL180. I fly IFR in uncontrolled everyday in Canada, and we announce our intentions on 126.70 and the ATF or MF, and listen carefully for a response. Then we drop out of the clag and pray that any VFR guys around were listening. Sounds like fun, no?
Americans flying here in the summer are a great source of amusement for us. You can feel them start to sweat when they are told that they are "clear of controlled airspace, radar and alerting services terminated, cleared enroute frequencies..." Most of the US is controlled also. Usually they can be heard asking later, to no one in particular, if they are cleared for X approach or whatever. You were lucky that you were VFR. Americans kill themselves in droves every year flying IFR in those same mountains, usually just after asking an FSS station (no radars there) for vectors to the runway.
I hear Europe(and Scandanavia) has Flight Levels very close to the ground, and that everything is controlled. Small space, many people. We have a large space, and few people. It's just not economically viable, or really necessary, to control low-level airspace in most of Canada.
If you come back and do it again, once you're clear of controlled, Squawk 1200, announce your altitude, location and intentions, and anyone who might see a conflict will get back to you. And remember, here you are always in an altimeter-setting region until you are through FL180, except for the arctic. Did you have 29.92 on the box at FL095? If you did, your vertical separation was compromised the whole time.
Vancouver is beautiful though, eh?
Fly safe.