American applying to Canadian schools

[hamster]

I am beginning to look at schools for the next application cycle and quite a few Canadian schools have profs who study my area of interest. Plus I would be really interested in living in Canada for a while.

Is there anyone on gradcafe who has done this? My main questions are financial- how does it work? I am only interested in research based Clinical PhD programs that offer a tuition waiver and livable stipend. Is it possible for an American to receive this in Canada or is the only option to take out loans? Is any funding for this available from the US government besides loans? Also it appears, at least for most Canadian schools I have looked into, that someone with only a B.A. would apply to the Master's program first but may then proceed to the PhD program after completing the M.A. Is this correct? and does it have an impact on funding (since I know there is usually more money for PhD rather than MA programs)?

Please forgive my ignorance, Canadians. Thanks