I am all about "use what you have". So..the worm box, if you want wood, could be made from any recycled lumber. If you are going to spend money, spend it on worms. Find as local of a grower as possible. You can spend no money at all and get worms to show up in an in-ground, open bottom bin. It just takes more time. If you want to start in cold weather, I would think you would want to have some kind of indoor bin. There are many options, which makes this whole process really interesting and fun, as you can plan it around your specific situation.

I have a homemade bin so my startup costs were $15 aus for worms (about $13 CAD). you can set up a system as cheaply as you want, I only bought a small amount of worms (supposedly 500 but I think they were counting the eggs somehow ;) ) since they will multiply over time anyway

Hi vmarcos68

You should no problem finding suppliers in Canada and in BC. I've got a lsit of some links on my site (link below)

Here is a link that might be useful: Canadian Vermiculture/Vermicomposting Links

I spent $25 on a pound of worms and about $7 on my rubbermaid containers. Of course, I have split the bin several times now, so I spent another $14 or so on bins.