This is very difficult -- let me explain why. I'm an American who has studied in Canada, and have extensive experience in the higher education systems of both countries. I used to spend my spare time in the zoology department of the University of Toronto, and hang out at the ROM.
First of all, all university jobs are highly desirable, and good university jobs (tenure-track, research positions) are rare. Any such job that's offered will likely have dozens of applicants, from the Commonwealth and the U.S. as well as Canada. To get it you have to compete against the world.
Second, any such job is highly specialized. There are very few jobs advertised for 'zoology' professors. Instead, they'll want a parasitologist. Or someone who specializes in tundra ecology. Or someone who studies muscle physiology. Or someone with experience in avian conservation biology. Canada is not a huge country of universities -- it will take luck just to find a job to apply for.
Third, Canada is a semi-closed academic network. Canadian universities prefer to hire Canadians, or permanent residents. You will be a permanent resident -- but there are going to be other permanent residents, and Canadian citizens, who are more integrated into the academic network than you are. The department you apply to is going to have graduate students that it knows better -- can your degree compete with theirs? The department is going to know graduate students, post-docs, and professors from other prestigious Canadian universities -- can your degree compete with those from the University of Toronto, McGill, University of Alberta, UBC, Dalhousie? The department is going to have former undergraduate students who went on to do graduate studies at prestigious universities in the United States -- why would they want to hire you instead of these people who they remember, who have succeeded elsewhere? Why will the university want to hire you, when it knows other people better, who can do the job just as well?
In short, the academic job market is not like the job market for petroleum engineers, network administrators, etc. It is so small that it is hardly a market -- one job advertisement may have only 20 serious potential applicants throughout the entire world. Because of its small size, it has a substantial informal quality to it -- a degree is only the formal permission to apply, it doesn't mean that an application for a job will be taken seriously.
My recommendation is this -- give strong consideration to working at one of Canada's many community colleges (Google 'Association of Canadian Community Colleges'), where the above three points don't apply as much, while doing research, attending conferences, publishing papers, and trying to integrate yourself into the academic networks. Perhaps apply for a post-doc position instead. It would be terribly chancy to assume that an appropriate academic job will open up where you are living, and that you will be hired for it -- the academic job market is TERRIBLE.
I apologize, sincerely, if this letter seems patronizing. You don't say very much about your wife's experience and publications -- it may very well be that her education and experience are sufficient to go into battle for a tenure-track job. If so, then I wish you all the best.
