It depends a bit on the amount of money we're talking about and the frequency. If you want the very cheapest method and are willing to put up with some hassle you can do the following.
1) set up a US domiciled bank account with the US subsidiary of a Canadian bank. I have mine with RBC but I know TD and BMO offer this as well. Important that this isn't just a USD account, but is actually an account with the US subsidiary bank.
2) transfer the money to your US bank account. This should be free. Lots of ways to do it. PayPal friends and family, venmo, have him write a check, email you pictures and then mobile deposit it, etc.
3) convert the money to CAD. The very cheapest way to do this will be in the financial markets. Interactive Brokers offer forex trading to retail clients, or you can use Norbert's Gambit linked above. Norberts Gambit generally gets the exact wholesale rate and costs two stock commissions. (Ie $20 or less all in)
If that doesn't seem worth it to you wise (formerly transferwise) is your best bet. It will cost 1-1.5%, so it sort of depends if 1% is $5 then I'd do it through wise. If 1% is hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees then I'd take the time to do it the more complicated/cheaper way.
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