B.C.s not a bad entry point if you're coming in from the tropics. If you're going to be near the coast the sea moderates the temperatures there so it rarely gets below freezing, and it should be humid enough for you to be fairly comfortable. Expect rain. A lot of it.
While we like to think there's no racism here, there is. It's worse and more obvious in other places but you'll still find some here. Fortunately, we also like to think of ourselves as "multicultural" meaning that most of us tend to not have the attitude that if you're gonna be in Canada you gotta learn to live like a Canadian. Odds are you'll be able to find a community of people from your own region if you look about a little bit, practicing whatever customs there are that you usually practice, and probably with a few stores that specialize in some of the things you're used to.
B.C. is almost exclusively English, so don't worry about having to know French unless you want to get a job with the government.
One of the things that may throw you for a bit is that we tend to measure distance by how long it takes to travel it. So the store isn't a kilometre away, it's about a 10 minute walk.
Expect it to be somewhat colder than you're used to, of course, and expect Canadians to, in general, seem reserved and polite. Talking about the weather is a fairly common ice-breaker. We generally don't discuss politics or religion unless it's with good friends or there's something significant going on (like an election) .. and even then generally only if something prompts it (like a news story on TV). Complaining about prices is, of course, completely normal.
You may be used to negotiating when you shop. We generally don't.. though you're welcome to try, of course. Who knows, maybe it'll work.
If you don't stick to your native cuisine, you'll probably find north American food fairly bland, overly processed, and yet strangely addictive because of all the salt and sugars in it. I'd suggest you avoid it. Quite simply, it's not very healthy. Stick to the foods of your own country if you can, or try some of the foods from the other cultures around. BC has a significant Japanese population so it should be relatively easy to get into their foods if you like.
