I can understand why you'd like to work in beautiful British Columbia - so would I!
Check out
this thread for a discussion on finding jobs in Canada.
You should note that the Canadian government changed its immigration rules at the end of 2008 to remove software developers from the list of occupations qualifying for a federal Permanent Resident permit. There are also provincial permits, but the same rules usually apply to these as well. This means you would probably need to find a job with an employer who is prepared to sponsor you for a work permit.
To get an idea of salaries and the demand for skills, check out the job sites like
Monster. When I was looking a while ago, there seemed to be a fair number of Java enterprise application developer jobs around Vancouver, which is the largest city in BC. There are also some jobs in and around Victoria (the provincial capital) on Vancouver Island, but Victoria is a lot smaller than Vancouver, so there are fewer opportunities.
There are excellent universities in BC and across Canada, and plenty of Canadians who want to work in BC, so you may find there is a lot of competition for jobs. If you're prepared to look elsewhere, there seem to be a lot more jobs in the Toronto area, for example. And if you speak French then Montreal/Quebec might be a good option, as the Quebec provincial government often has a more generous policy on work permits than the other provinces.
Good luck.