"...let me try out a firearm..." Few shops, anywhere, will allow that because the firearm instantly becomes a used firearm and they can't sell it as 'new'. You can try a handgun on for size in most shops though. Mind you, most shops don't have a range either.
In any case, for restricted, you have to join a club anyway. By far most shooters tend to go out of their way to help a new shooter. That includes letting you try their firearms.
A Sig 226 isn't a target gun but if a member has one, it's not impolite to ask if you can look at it and that usually leads to an invitation to try it. That pistol has a few advantages though. Al Flaherty's(2066 Dufferin Street) will sell you a .22 conversion kit for $489. Only downside is the mags are friggin' expensive.
As daft as it sounds, in TO, it's easier to shoot a handgun regularly than it is a rifle. For rifles it's Guelph, Cambridge or Oshawa. Which one depends on where you are in TO.
"...maximum budget of about $1000 each..." That's entirely reasonable. You don't have to spend it all at once either.