Thanks for the plug Parveen (I'm one of the guys behind Bootup Labs)
To elaborate on SRED and IRAP: These are programs that will either offset tax on revenue, or provide direct grants for original research and development. Talking with one of the local CTOs up here, he said use of these two programs basically cut his development costs by 70 to 80% versus Silicon Valley. Basically, there's a fair amount of free government money to be had to get you going, or stretch your funding further.
I actually just returned here from Silicon Valley (lived in Mountain View for four years). There's a couple reasons I did, mostly because Silicon Valley is an echo chamber that confuses motion with progress, but also because Vancouver has a lot to offer:
1) Diverse population ethnicity: if you're thinking about going into China, India, or Europe, it helps to have a lot of local knowledge of those cultures.
2) Lots of local talent: For one, the largest Electronics Arts development center in the world. For a second, a number of "Silicon Valley" companies and thought leaders - Tim Bray (creator of XML), Flock (has a team of 20 devs on Vancouver Island), Lloyd Budd (Automattic), many others.
3) Healthy life: I lost 15 pounds in two months when I returned to Vancouver, without really changing much. The city is a walking city, so we have only used a single tank of gas in th past four months. There's lots of cheap transit.
4) Close to Silicon Valley: YVR is actually the largest airport on the west coast (not LAX). You can be in Silicon Valley in two hours. I often joked with my valley friends that I could fly to Vancouver and drive to Whistler faster than they could get to Lake Tahoe. ;-)
As for living expense - overall, it's about the same as Silicon Valley. Some stuff costs more, some stuff less. The stuff that does cost more, you usually get a lot more bang for your buck. $800K will get you a shack in Mountain View, or a brand new modern apartment in downtown Vancouver in the heart of the action.