Yes they begin the process from the very first day when your friend lands in canada. You can give your address as well and can mail to him later.Thank you for the reply. However, he will be entering Canada using his COPR. Once he does that, I'm sure they will begin the process of having the PR card printed and mailed to him. However, if he leaves the country without the PR card, won't the COPR be invalid at that point? Would it be possible to have the PR card mailed to my address and then I can mail it to him in Zambia in the case that he has to leave before it arrives?
Though I discourage the mail option, better option is to give someone who is going to zambia and must be in your known or request for the document to enter back.