I think, in theory, PR card is required.
In practice, it is not.
As long as you have permanent resident status and a valid passport then the passport officer can check your status against their computer system against the passport number. When they look at the passport they are going to see the COPR form from landing anyway.
It's fairly commonplace for newly landed immigrants to go back to their own country to tie up affairs after a short landing trip, and of course the PR card arrives in Canada whilst they are away. Passport control at the airport are aware of this.
Neither me nor my wife had our PR cards when we came back to Canada after returning to the UK for a month or two after our landing trip, and we had no problems gaining entry.
Having PR card certainly makes the conversation with passport control easier and faster, but I find it very, very unlikely they will refuse to admit someone with PR status if they do not have the card, since they have several other ways to check the status.
HOWEVER, one thing it is important to do is check with the airline before travelling. Some airlines get nervous about flights to Canada without a return flight back to the home country, since if the passenger is not admissable to Canada the airline will have to fly them back at their own expense.
I think it'll be the case there will not be an issue at passport control without a PR card, but the airline might not let you board in the first place unless you clear it with them first.
Wayne.
