Just thought of quoting some info about PR Card here:
New permanent residents
It is necessary to supply a Canadian residential address at the time of landing. If a Canadian address cannot be supplied at the time, it is necessary to provide one to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) within 180 days. Otherwise a new application for a PR Card will be required, at a cost of $50 to the applicant. Manual applications for permanent residence cards take on average 106 days, compared to 72 days for those applied for at the time of landing.
There is no fee for a PR Card applied for at the time of the landing.
Validity of a PR card
The PR Card is normally issued for 5 years. In some circumstances it may be issued for 1 year only.
Possession of a valid PR Card does not ensure that one's permanent resident status will remain valid until the expiry date. In some circumstances - notably where breaches of residence obligations are involved - permanent resident status can be lost before this date.
Similarly, a PR Card's expiration date does not indicate that the holder's status as a permanent resident has expired, or will expire, on that date. It is the date after which the card must be replaced with a new card, if the holder is still a legal permanent resident at that time.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Permanent_Resident_Card
