Queries largely answered, but I will elaborate, going into some detail . . .
I concur with
@scylla regarding waiting to make sponsorship application.
Moreover, especially so given what is likely to be a lengthy absence (more than three/four weeks).
A PR is eligible to sponsor ONLY while IN Canada. While short trips do not ordinarily cause a problem, and it appears (emphasis on it "
appears") many manage to do OK despite relatively lengthy absences pending the sponsorship application, even just
cutting-it-close in terms of Residency Obligation compliance, let alone actually being in breach of the RO, increases the risk of elevated scrutiny and potentially stricter application of the rules.
I recognize that a delay potentially means a more lengthy separation from family. If you can afford a
paid-for consultation with a lawyer (at best one can expect to get no more than what they pay for from a lawyer, and free consultations are worth just about what you pay for), with a reputable immigration lawyer, it may be worth exploring the possibility (emphasis on it just being a "
possibility") of applying sooner with representation.
I also concur in the caution interposed by
@armoured . . .
What some PRs overlook is that the days they spent in Canada right after landing begin to fall out of the calculation as of the fifth year anniversary of their landing. While one sees many references in the forum to having "
completed" their 730 days to meet the RO, there is no such thing as completing RO compliance.
For a PR who spends 730 plus days in a row in Canada, that results in them being in compliance for the next three years, so for many that more or less seems like "
completing" the RO. But that is really just about the arithmetic, since for the next three years the 730 plus days in a row in Canada means they have spent at least 730 days in Canada within the preceding five years.
For you, having been a PR for more than five years, your compliance with the RO will always be based on the number of days you have been IN Canada during the preceding five years, as of any day the RO compliance calculation is based on.
PR RO compliance is a day-specific calculation, based on the date in question. Typical dates for which RO might be calculated include:
-- date a PR arrives at a Port-of-Entry returning to Canada
-- date a PR applies for a PR Travel Document
-- date a PR applies for a new PR card
-- date a PR applies to sponsor a family member
-- later date of RO compliance examination during the processing of an application for a new PR card or sponsorship
For you, again, RO compliance is based on number of days IN Canada during the last five years, which could occur on any of those dates, and during which you need to have been IN Canada at least 730 days. (Since at least your first PR card has expired, you have obviously been a PR for more than five years, so the manner of calculating compliance during the first five years is no longer relevant for you.)
As I noted, what some PRs overlook is that days they spent in Canada right after landing begin to fall out of the calculation as of the fifth year anniversary of their landing. If they did a soft landing and only spent a few days before leaving, it is pretty easy to make up for those days later. However, what it comes down to for many is this: if after landing they left Canada and were abroad for more than 1095 days, they will need to spend at least 730 days in a row to for sure be in RO compliance before exiting Canada again. Once they do that, stay for two years, they are good for up to the next three years.
What also causes some confusion is the nature and extent of leniency CBSA and IRCC often exercise, typically unspoken. It is quite common, for example, for PRs to return to Canada while their first PR card is still valid and upon arrival be waived through the PoE without even being questioned about RO compliance, let alone Reported, EVEN THOUGH they have been outside Canada more than 1095 days since their landing and are thus in breach of the RO (since it is not possible for them to spend at least 730 days in Canada during their first five years). It appears this may have been the case for you.
Leading back to the recognition that a delay in making a sponsorship application potentially means a more lengthy separation from family:
Some anecdotal reports suggest similar leniency for PRs making sponsorship applications, which means quite a few are reporting sponsorship applications going OK even though they made the application before they are actually in RO compliance. But this entails some risk, and a lengthy absence pending that application is likely to increase the risks. Calculating those risks is tricky (emphasis on "
tricky"), so the
consensus overwhelmingly leans in favour of taking the safe route: do not apply for sponsorship unless and until in RO compliance, and do not go abroad for lengthy time period while sponsorship application is pending.
Depending on the advice of a competent and reputable immigration lawyer, it may be reasonable to nonetheless proceed with an application while being represented by the lawyer (noting in particular, any PR making a sponsorship application who anticipates going abroad for any significant period of time while the application is pending would be prudent to more or less buy insurance by being represented in the in the proceeding).