bchenery,
I'm not sure what you do for a living, but the majority of employers want full time employees. picking up work for 3 months then taking 6 months off, like Aussies do in the UK, is not a standard practice in Canada.
Annual leave is only 2 weeks per year, then its up to the generosity of your employer if you get any more vacation a year. Sick days depend on employer, stat holidays are around 9 or 10 a year. One of the employers I had gave us extra 3 weeks vacation per year after 15yrs service.
Not like here in aust where you get 4 weeks min right off the bat.
You might want to look up the min wage, it changes by the province.
Overall cost of living is 5% cheaper than Australia, but the wages are lower than australia.
If you want a change, you'll get it. Lots of stuff to see. its a big country. Don't worry about were you want to live, move around if you can, all provinces have lots to see and do. One place I wanted to spend more time at was New Foundland, but never managed more than 2 weeks a time there.
Best of luck.