All that matters is how convincing your SOP sounds. In my opinion it is better to declare in the very beginning that you want your family to be with you during your study period. For the sake of getting study permit smoothly someone may be tempted to show his/her family members staying at home as home ties in SOP. However, after arriving in Canada and studying for few months, that person will ask his/her spouse to apply for SOWP. This clearly violates the initial logic written in the SOP and may cause rejection of the SOWP of the spouse.
Yes I agree with this.
Doing it that way, also seems like a trick.
The real thing is that with accompanying family, funds is very important to a point out I do believe.
Here is an example, you show funds that will cover you, your wife and your child's living expenses for the first year of a 4 year bachelors degree and the first years tuition paid.
The Government is going to ask the question, how are you going to pay for the other 3 years of the degree + living expenses for you and your family for those additional 3 years?
Now, of course if you provide information for the spouse that they have a skill that can be used and is in need within the country then it strengths the application BUT if not, the government sees this application as higher risk because working at Tim Hortons is not going to be enough to cover all the necessary costs for an additional 3 years + tuition for those years which as we all know is not cheap.
Maybe it could but its more unlikely especially if there is an emergency during their stay where funds needs to be used, which is not an unrealistic view.
Thus, rejection is more possible because they do not want to run the risk for a full family being situated within Canada and have run out of money not just to survive but not even enough to go back to their home country.
There must have been a situation/s where this has happened.
Therefore, Canada I do not think minds you bringing your whole family with but you must prove theoretically that you have a higher chance of being able to take care of yourself and your family during your studies because after your studies are complete, you can then get a job and continue to live within Canada on a more stable and responsible salary over being say being a barista during your studies.
This is why 3 year PGWP's are issued for even 2 year programs.
They want you to stay and they want you to be educated but they do not want you to run out of money and become a liability to the government during your studies. Because in the end who is going to pay the plane ticket to send you home if you are on the street homeless because you couldn't continue to survive and your visa has expired.
Deportation costs money as well.
Sounds extreme but I believe Canada uses the most extreme examples to make sure it never happens or it reduces the chance of it happening to a minimum.
Just my thoughts.