Strictly speaking, not necessarily true.
Husband is PA and has a temporary SIN (starts with ‘9’) from when in Canada on a Working Holiday Visa. Don’t think it will get attached to his file in any way, though.
Presume he will get a new, permanent one, when he lands with the correct starting number for preferred province, settlement wise.
There may also be exceptions for First Nations members and other exceptions. Possibly numerous exceptions. I was trying not to cloud the issue for the party who asked the original question. They indicated that "the applicant" didn't have a SIN. Unlike your case where a SIN is owned under circumstances other than citizen or permanent resident, I was pointing out that "whoever" the Sponsor is they should have a SIN. Anything else simply confuses the issue and doesn't clarify for the person who asked originally.