Lots of used gear on Kijiji. Don't break the budget buying thousands of dollars of new and fancy gear for your first year of riding - buy some used but serviceable stuff online - a lot of it you'll often find is barely used, people that bought it for last summer and discovered riding wasn't for them. There's also consignment shops like Re-Cycle in Oshawa.
Save your money for insurance and gas.
And yes, for the course you can get away with heavy denim for pants, and jacket as well if you don't already have something in leather. They will not accept pleather or vinyl so don't think you'll fool them - they check. Gloves, again, find a $10-$20 pair or real riding gloves on Kijiji or the local flea market - your hands will likely be the first thing to hit the ground if you do dork your bike during the course so have proper gloves. As for boots, yes, workboots will suffice if need be but some people struggle with the shifter with bulky work boots, so again, shopping now for some suitable used gear is worthwhile.
If all that fails, there are people online now renting all the MC course essentials. Just look on Kijiji.
Whatever you do, buying thousands of dollars of shiny new gear as a newbie is unwise There was a young kid at my wifes MC course last summer all dressed up in a Dainese racing suit with a beautiful Shoei helmet (that didn't look cheap) that highsided during the emergency braking part of the course.
Suffice to say all his new gear was significantly degraded in value.