M_O,
It is my understanding from a number of Canadian friends that it is challenging to make money in any aspect of the cattle business in your country right now. There are a number of full time Canadian cattle producers on this forum who may be able to help you with the specifics of the business in Canada.
In the US, what is listed below is what contributes to long term profitability. I am talking about operations that make double digit return on assets every year.
1) Own as little as possible. This means land, cattle, equipment, and facilities. If it rusts, rots, or depreciates, it limits profitability. Some of the highest return beef operations run contract cattle on leased land. They own no cattle or land. All the operator provides is management and labor. As profit is accumulated, they may purchase land and/or their own cattle.
2) Let the cattle do all the work they can. This means they should harvest their own feed as many days of the year as possible (365 being the goal!), fertilize the fields and control the weeds, breed and calve every 365 days, calve on their own, stay healthy with minimal inputs. If you're running yearlings the same things apply except for the breeding part. Hard to get a steer bred....
3) Market effectively. Never just sell an animal. If you're a people-person, market food not commodities. That is where the real profit is.