There's no way that their costs to compete in Canada would be more than in NCAA or even NAIA.
Just think every meal they provide athletes, coaches and support staff in the US is 35% more than the same meal in Victoria, Kamloops, Edmonton, Winnipeg or Saskatoon.
Canada West has 6 members within a 5 hour drive of SFU and UNBC in Prince George just a bit farther. 4 schools in Edmonton and Calgary, Lethbridge, then the 5 prairie schools.
They'd save a metric **** ton of costs by competing in Canada for all sports.
Football conference is a lot smaller, but there's no justification on cost for them on choosing to compete in US college ranks.