you could always move to hamilton (cheap living costs) or waterloo region (tons of jobs, lower living costs than toronto but not as cheap as hamilton and less competition for jobs.) Really in toronto--or the gta--the easiest to get jobs are found in brampton, mississauga and milton. Downtown even i've had trouble cracking--it's all about connections: cultural, religious, ethnic, school mates, what scene your into etc. Basically, (having done what you're doing--live in another cheaper city outside of ontario for a few years then move back to toronto) you'll be paying minimum $700 for a tiny bachelor apt (slightly less if you get a room in a crappy house==$500 perhaps) in a sort of ghetto area (st clair and bathurst, parkdale, danforth, bloor and ossington) and without a business degree or some specialized skilled trade, you'll be hanging around temp agencies begging for $10/hour jobs.... Really sucks.
(Moving out of toronto cost me about 5 year's career advancement; i missed those crucial networking years working up from entry level positions; as a result, i've stopped looking for a job and have become self employed.)
Remember: Everyone wants to move to Toronto. Vancouver is easier to get a construction job; in Toronto, if you don't speak Spanish or Italian (sorry for not being totally PC here but i've got friends who work in the biz) chances are high they won't want you on the site.
I've learned to live cheaply and still save money: Ditch your car, rent a cheap basement apt, and start networking (ie sleeping around lol) and you might land your dream job within a few years....