I support this idea. I've been based in Toronto and Montréal and the cost of living in the latter is usually a factor of two less expensive. As k3fernan mentioned, the software buzz in the area focuses around gaming, AI, and research, but there are still lots of general jobs (mindGeek is a big presence). Be aware of a necessity to learn/know french with certain roles, but usually anglophones get by just fine.

I've heard from friends living in Canada that Toronto is much more friendlier than Monteral towards immigrants.

Immigrant Montrealer reporting in. I've never felt any animosity or close-mindedness because of my ethnicity but being polite and understanding that you're in a 'country' that speaks French really goes a long way. I do so it's never been an issue for me, but I can see it rubbing the locals (including myself) the wrong way if people are deliberately being impolite about it.

Hello, fellow Montrealer. Totally a great place if you lean a bit more towards quality-of-life & affordability & national culture vs. more money & global,ethnic culture (Toronto)

Also check out Ottawa. Tech scene there is pretty hot both in Kanata (suburb) and downtown... although you might find it a bit "sleepy".

Yup. There’s plenty of places along "the corridor" – Kitchener/Waterloo, Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal – in eastern Canada that could cater to the OP's goals and hop between them if there's a particular event happening in one of those cities (though not as a cheap as hoping around Europe).

Ottawa is nice, but I wouldn't recommend most companies in Kanata unless you're content with working in a cubicle farm in a bleak, suburban, commercial park hellscape.

Kanata is definitely the heavy hitter in terms of tech jobs, but the downtown has gotten way hotter in the past 5 years. Shopify, Klipfolio, Pythian, SurveyMonkey, EDC, etc.