According to the Association of Canadian Publishers, approximately 10,000 books are published each year in Canada, almost all of which are initiated by publishers. Publishing firms take calculated financial risks every time they publish a book, laying out money for the editing, marketing and production of a book before the book earns any sales. Most publishing houses are inundated with unsolicited manuscripts on a regular basis, so becoming a successfully published writer takes a lot of determination, research, and a little luck.

It is best to send a publisher a proposal or letter of inquiry instead of the entire manuscript since few publishers accept unsolicited manuscripts.The most important aspect of a manuscript submission to publishers is the book proposal.

According to selfpublish.ca, many authors choose self-publishing because it is such an interesting and rewarding process and because, as publisher, the author has complete control over every aspect of the production of the book. Other authors turn to self-publishing when they cannot find a trade publisher who is interested in their manuscript.

In addition, there is no need to write a propsal letter or be determined and have a thick skin.

In my opinion, to publish or to self publish really depends on the type of person you are. Only you can know the road you want to take and that is the beauty of the industry, the options out there. All you need to do is put the pen to the paper and write!
Isn't that inspiring?
Here are the links so you can do some further reading if you choose and make your informed choice.
http://www.publishers.ca

http://dev.geist.com/vancouverdesktop