you cannot buy tickets at the SNCF website (or at a travel agent) until at least 60 days before the trip date.

The PREM fares (very good if you can get them), can only be print out on your own printer or mail home, you cannot pick them up at a SNCF station. Of course, given that you live in Canada, your only option would be to print them out. Read carefully their explanations, because I think that you can only print them two or three times, and they have some specifications regarding the printer and how to do it. Here you have the explanations http://tinyurl.com/38hqf . Of course, there is a good thing to this : you don´t have to validate the tickets you have printed out :)

For the european Ziners, I would choose the mail it to my home option. It is free of charge, and you receive your tickets at home in a week or less.

If you don´t get a PREM fare for your desired travel, you should still be able to buy tickets online by saying that you would pick them up in France.

Good luck,

Covadonga Bilbao - Spain