If you’ll be visiting Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Games, you can use this opportunity to learn more about living and working in many different parts of Canada.

How?

Visit the “houses” that many Canadian regions have set up to showcase their communities. All are offering a variety of special events during the Winter Olympics, from February 12–28.

Ontario House, at 50 Pacific Boulevard, will draw potential residents, investors, and visitors with several high-tech attractions, including a 4-D virtual tour of the province; appearances by Ontario celebrity chefs Jamie Kennedy and Anna Olson, as well cooking demos by chefs from the Ottawa branch of Le Cordon Bleu; and musical performances by Ontario artists. Get a calendar of Ontario house events here or follow Tourism Ontario on twitter.

Also at 50 Pacific Boulevard is La Maison du Québec, which will showcase Québécois culture, food and drink, and tourism opportunities, including nightly performances by Montreal-based circus troupe Les 7 Doigts de la Main. French-speakers can get more information and a schedule here.

At the corner of Robson and Beatty Streets, Alberta House is hosting business-to-business events about the province’s economic and tourism opportunities. Every morning from 10-11am, Alberta Plaza (in front of Alberta House) will feature information about living, working, visiting, and investing in Alberta, while in the evenings, Alberta performers take to the stage. Follow Alberta House on twitter for more details.

Other provincial “houses” include:

CentrePlace Manitoba, at the LiveCity Downtown site

Saskatchewan Pavilion, on the north shore of False Creek

Atlantic Canada House, located on Granville Island, featuring Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador

Canada’s Northern House, at 602 W. Hastings St., promoting the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Check out their news on twitter, too.

And of course, there’s also the British Columbia Pavilion, and the 2010 B.C. Business Visitors Program, which we blogged about here. Follow “BC — You Gotta Be Here” on twitter.

Who said that the Olympics are all about sports?

Photo by roland (flickr)