Hi!
I am American, so yes, I am also super concerned about funding! From my understanding, no, they don't do a visitation weekend. I am flying out there the second week of March to check out the campus. I have a friend who got accepted last year and she was offered $17,000 but Vancouver is a really expensive area. I've also heard that you can get TA or RA positions on top of the stipend, but I'm unsure if Canadian citizens have priority.