First, your spouse has to sponsor you for permanent residence (PR) in Canada. As they have been living outside Canada for so long, in order to be eligible to sponsor you, they will have to show that they intend to return to reside in Canada when you are granted PR.
Second, in order to qualify for citizenship, a PR has to show they have physically resided in Canada for 3 out of the last 4 years. Time spent with a Canadian spouse outside of Canada does not count towards the residency requirement for citizenship.