It is not true that you have to be canadian to open a bank account in canada. You need not even be resident. I opened a personal account before i had a work permit or even a place to live in. you request to open a non-resident account, bring your passport and your US drivers license and don’t go to royal bank, they want $5000 minimum to open an account.
Americans can also register a corporation in canada and get a corporate bank account. In Ontario, you must have at least a 2 person board, with at least 1 of the directors one being resident in ontario and that board member need not own a share of the corporation.
You’ll probably do best in a border city like niagara, windsor, Sarnia or near the washington/BC border, when looking for attornies, accountants and bankers who do this regularly.
One note, they’ll make you wait 6 business business weeks (that’s 6 calendar weeks) to clear your checks from outside canada until you’ve established some sort of “credit/banking record” there.