The canadian buisness council is very active here.
Keep an eye out for them.
I have found that a lot of the Canadians here fled Lebanon and Iran back in the 70's when the shit hit the fan, and have now returned home so to speak... or as close as they would like.
Welcome! You're from Brantford, eh? I've got some family around those parts. There are many Canadians here in Dubai, and even more people who have Canadian passports but don't have much to do with Canada.
There have been some threads in the past week talking about people's perspectives on Dubai. You can poke around and have a read. It all depends on what you like and what quality of living means to you. Some people love it here, others can't wait till their contracts end. Best of luck!