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As Narly said if your planning on participating in organized racing your choices will be limited to the classes your tack allows. A typical 1/8 scale nitro buggy uses a 125cc fuel tank that lasts about 15-20 minutes depending on driving conditions. One gallon of fuel will get you about 30 tanks or 7.5 to 10 hours of run time. I've listed a pro/con list below and I tried to be fair.

Electric Pro
Quiet - Won't disturb neighbors
Easy to run
Clean - no fumes or oily residue
Can be made as fast as or faster than nitro counter part
Usually a racing class available

Electric Con
Quiet - For those who love the sound of a real engine
Batteries - Need a few to keep the fun going
Going fast tends to raise cost fast

Nitro Pro
Noise of a real engine
Most are plenty fast out of the box
Unlimited run time as long as you have the fuel
Usually a racing class available

Nitro Con
Noisy - not everyone like to hear nitro running in their neighborhood
Fuel and oil residue mixed with dirt makes a mess
Tuning can cause trouble for some people
Fuel can get pricey if you run a lot

Gasoline Pro
Its huge and a real attention getter
Noise of a real engine
Uses standard pump gas
Unlimited run time as long as you have fuel

Gasoline Con
Noisy with a tuned pipe these are much worse than nitros
Initial purchase price is higher
Can't take physical abuse of the nitro or electrics
I have yet to come across a track offer large scale racing in Canada