Given that you live in TO, your long range shooting opportunities are going to be more limited than it is for those of us who have access to the wide open spaces out west, or the even more wide open spaces in the arctic and subarctic. I get that cost is a factor in your choice of rifle, and believe me, I sympathize. But long shooting is an expensive game, and riflemen quickly discover that rifle cost is secondary to the cost of optics, mounts, ammunition (factory or components and handloading tools and accessories) chronograph, rangefinder, a Kestrel, and the cost of regularly getting to and from your shooting area. The best advice in choosing a rifle is to buy once, cry once, but the Remington is a solid choice, and can be customized to meet your needs over time.
Try not to skimp on glass; you don't have to go the Nightforce/S&B/US Optics route, but according to Nathan Foster, Sightron provides a balance of quality and price. QD rings allow you to swap a high end scope between several rifles, but they are more expensive than fixed rings, and at this stage you might not be in position to appreciate the advantage. A sloped base effectively extends range, and allows you to make use all of the vertical adjustment in your scope. A reticle that has hold off points, like Leupold's Boone and Crockett, or a Horus reticle, allows you to rapidly pick up and engage multiple targets at different ranges, to make hits in variable winds, and you don't have to be concerned about mechanical errors that might occur when dialing in for range if your adjustments don't track precisely.
If you shoot at a range, you can save the cost of a rangefinder since you'll be shooting at a known distance. If the range has flags, you can get by without the Kestrel. If the range is nearby, you save in transportation costs. If you choose a small bore cartridge, you get more rounds down range, for each shooting dollar. That said, you should try to shoot under true field conditions now and again, as this provides challenges and opportunities that are absent on a manicured range. In the field, you can manipulate your position to create changes in wind and light conditions, and angle of departure. In the field, you might be forced to shoot from positions other than from a bench, or prone (due to low vegetation) and this provides an opportunity to learn how to stabilize higher shooting positions using packs, sandbags, and even cleaning rods. The range you shoot at does not have to be in full hundreds of yards/meters; if you want to confirm your point of impact at 637 yards, you can do that, and make any necessary correction to your ballistics program so it corresponds with your observations.
One of the most important things you can do is keep good records. Each shot should be recorded, with date, time, location, range, environmental and light conditions, angle of shot, and the reason for shooting (sighting in, confirming zero, group size etc). You can makeup an index card that can be taped to the stock of your rifle, and the more shooting you do, the better the information that card will contain. You don't know how to shoot in a wind unless you shoot in the wind. You don't know shooting in the rain will affect your score until you shoot in the rain.
held dead center the entire time too. 
