I just got back from a 2 month drive from Toronto to Vancouver Island. A combo of airbnb, camping and sleeping in my car. 17,000km of driving that cost $2600 in gas.
Overall, I felt Canada NW of Parry Sound is very isolated, rundown and has a sadly racist attitude towards the First Nations that I don't think can be solved without giving them millions of acres of arable land and space to build their own cities.
I spent 4 nights in Winnipeg (nice old residential 'hoods marred by a very rundown core with fast moving traffic and few pedestrians); I really enjoyed Brandon and think it's Manitoba's best city - historic downtown, lovely housing stock, great university campus. Winnipeg has more potholes than mosquitos!
Then I stayed near Regina - wow what an attractive city, although coming home I discovered Saskatoon is even better - my favourite Canadian prairie city by far.
Other cities I explored extensively: Moose Jaw (the best decaf coffee of my trip at Evolve), Swift Current, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge (again, like Brandon, a city that surprised me by its tolerable downtown and residential stock), Red Deer (ugh), Penticton (my favourite Okanagan city), Kelowna (vibrant core but really reminds me of Calgary - fundamentally flawed by its suburban mentality), Kamloops (a smaller Saskatoon only not as nice), Nanaimo (nice setting but the city is gross), Victoria (surprisingly rundown) with dreadful grey and black new suburbs, Courtenay (not bad), Campbell River (ugly), Lloydminster, North/Battleford - very disturbing and depressing, Yorkton, Thunder Bay - very tragic situation here, Sault Ste Marie - nice housing stock, a shame the downtown is so rundown/vacant, Sudbury - what a strange place ha.
I also drove through over 500 towns and villages: highlights: Neepawa MB, Lacombe AB, Trail & Greenwood BC.
Canada is best for its outdoor amenities - I hiked up mountains, trails etc especially in BC, Alberta and Manitoba; its cities outside of the big 3 are disappointing and rundown.
To conclude, I found Western Canada incredibly isolated, rundown and trending towards extreme poverty, rampant racist attitudes and filled with fifth-wheeling pick-up truck driving rednecks from Manitoba to BC. BC and Alberta are closer in outlook than Ontario and Quebec. Northern Ontario should separate, possibly joining Manitoba.