Not exactly; sometimes you have an appeal as of right; you don't need to ask the court you are going to for permission to file an appeal.  Sometimes you need to request leave to appeal; it's a short application summarizing the issue and why you should be able to take it up the appeal chain.  Most Supreme Court of Canada cases require leave to appeal to be filed and decided.  The leave application is decided by a panel of 3 up there.  Usually it's done in writing, sometimes they give you a 15 minute hearing.

The general rule is a lower court ruling is enforceable immediately, unless a stay of that judgment is obtained.  That can be requested in a leave application.  There are a few exceptions where a lower court judgment is stayed immediately on filing a notice of appeal, but not many.