He asked about dual intent and I answered that part of the question in my other post above based on what the IRPA states. Your answer has nothing to do with dual intent as you're talking about other factors that may or may not affect entry. The CBSA doesn't redefine the Act but they have the last say as the foreign national cannot appeal their decision at the POE. The fact that someone is denied entry does not change the fact that a foreign national can become a temporary resident even though they have the intent to apply for permanent resident.
Chapter ENF 4 states: Subsection A22(2) states that the intention of a foreign national to become a permanent resident does not preclude them from becoming a temporary resident if the border services officer is satisfied that they will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay. A person’s desire to await the outcome of an application for permanent residence from within Canada may be legitimate and should not automatically result in the decision to refuse entry.
Not to speak for another poster but the language you've quoted shows the complexity that canuck78 was referring to: travel / entry to Canada is currently limited to "essential" travel. But the section you've quoted says "a person's
desire .... may be legitimate."
I think an honest reading of this shows the ambiguity: the desire to enter can be legitimate but not essential. Will the CBSA officer see your desire to enter ('temporarily') as essential under dual intent? Or will some interpret this to mean that if it's 'just' a desire (however good the reasons might be), then it's not essential (almost by definition)?
So yes, dual intent may not be automatically grounds for denial of entry, and still (practically) entirely different in practice than pre-covid.