If your relationship is really serious - then your fastest option would be to get married and sponsor him to Canada as your spouse. Alternatively, you could live together for a full year to qualify as common law and then you could sponsor him. More information on these sponsorship routes is available in the first post on the following thread (note that you would not qualify for conjugal):
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.htmlLiving in Canada for three years will not get him permanent resident status. However if he worked here for two years in a skilled position - he could apply to become a permanent resident through the Canadian Experience Class immigration route. This would obviously require him to find an employer in Canada.
Unfortunately finding an employer in Canada is relatively difficult unless you have very specialized skills or experience. In order to hire a foreigner, a Canadian employer must prove they advertised the job and were unable to find or train a Canadian for the role. This is becoming more and more difficult to prove since the economy has taken a bit of a downturn here as well and more Canadians are looking for work. Having said that, there's nothing stopping him from looking for a job in Canada now. Just be prepared for a lot of rejection (or not hearing back from many companies) since many employers aren't willing to go through the process of hiring a foreign worker.
He could also come here as a student. This would allow him to live in Canada temporarily only. He would also have to pay the much higher foreign student fees and show additional funds ($10K) to pay living expenses. So this won't be a great option if money is tight.
Long story short - your fastest option is to get married. If you're not ready for that, then all of the other paths are more difficult and will very likely take more time.
Good luck.
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