Permanent Residence in Canada

With Permanent Residence status in Canada you obtain the same rights and responsibilities as all Canadian citizens. You do not, however, have the right to vote or to hold a Canadian passport. You have the legal right to live and work in any part of the country you choose and have access to all other social benefits and programs available nationally, provincially and territorially including free primary and secondary education & medical insurance regardless of your original province of destination.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms of Canada confers Mobility Rights on its citizens and permanent residents:

Mobility of citizens
6. (1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada.
Rights to move and gain livelihood (2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right
a) to move to and take up residence in any province; and
b) to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.

To maintain your Permanent Residence status you must physically reside in Canada for 2 years in each 5 year period and fulfill the Residency Obligation as stated in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as follows:

Section 28. Residency Obligation

(1) A permanent resident must comply with a residency obligation with respect to every five-year period.

(2) The following provisions govern the residency obligation under subsection (1):

(a) a permanent resident complies with the residency obligation with respect to a five-year period if, on each of a total of at least 730 days in that five-year period, they are

(i) physically present in Canada,

(ii) outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen who is their spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent,

(iii) outside Canada employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the public service of Canada or of a province,

(iv) outside Canada accompanying a permanent resident who is their spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent and who is employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the public service of Canada or of a province, or

(v) referred to in regulations providing for other means of compliance;

(b) it is sufficient for a permanent resident to demonstrate at examination.

(i) if they have been a permanent resident for less than five years, that they will be able to meet the residency obligation in respect of the five-year period immediately after they became a permanent resident;

(ii) if they have been a permanent resident for five years or more, that they have met the residency obligation in respect of the five-year period immediately before the examination; and

(c) a determination by an officer that humanitarian and compassionate considerations relating to a permanent resident, taking into account the best interests of a child directly affected by the determination, justify the retention of permanent resident status overcomes any breach of the residency obligation prior to the determination.