Hi Physioo,
I would be very interested where you can gat a 2 year course for physio in Canada!!!!!!!! we are moving towards Masters programs, and in many universities physio is already a masters program, which means you need a Bachelauriatr Degree to get in, that's probably why you all have to have your credentials and qualifications assessed. I think you, or whoever told you, confused the program for physio assistants with the physio program, the assistant's program is now 2 years in a lot of places, up from 10 months until recently.
thanks for the good word for Canada, it is indeed a wonderful place to live and work, physio is a very highly thought of profession here, and the educational level in the physio programs is very good. Thinking back to when I did the national exam, a lot of the practical scenarios were heavy on safety, safe handling of patients, body mechanics, temp. and sensory testing etc. maybe you can spend some time shadowing someone, that might give you some practical experience.
good luck!