Yeah possible, a small percentage of people in any role make up their own rules as an outlet for their own prejudices. Happens in all scenarios. I've read here before a border agent was not happy during a PR landing when he learnt the new PR is going to work as an employee. The agent's preference would be for PRs to start new businesses instead and not "take" Canadian jobs. This is while the federal government's policy was to give more points to Canadian job offers.
People make up stuff all the time - everyone from the guard who triages applicants outside the passport office to citizenship officers.
Heck, people on this forum who are entirely powerless to influence others' life (and apparently even their own), they even write posts in a way to influence people to bend to their own preference like not working outside Canada. Those are people who are typically jealous, stuck in a old school job and not malleable to the realities of the modern technology and trying to prevent others from leading a prosperous and fulfilling life. If that's the case you can imagine why some citizenship officers - who have at least some power - will behave.
Even more prominent example is the systematic issues within IRCC itself on race and country-based bias. There were news articles about that. There are very less things frowned upon in the society than these biases. But it's very difficult to get rid of those things entirely as long as humans are involved in a discretionary decision making process.
All these people think the high level policy makers running this country are not smart and they have to take up things on their own hands. These people cannot think longer term. They can't see people working outside bringing money/expertise back later on in their life or establishing a relationship with their foreign employer and moving back etc.
The remedy to these biases is internal supervisory controls within IRCC, to utilize other means such as going through an MP, filing requests and web forms, and in extreme scenarios - filing Mandamus.
If I were in a scenario like yours I wouldn't talk about job market or high level stuff at all. I'd just say I couldn't find the opportunity that uses my skillset and I took the one that allowed me to do that. That's all.
Fortunately the number of these people is small. And there are sufficient processes in place. For example that border agent couldn't refuse entry because the PR had all the papers. Even that other person who was refused a passport because he used four references instead of a guarantor, I believe Passport Canada issued the passport after complaining and initiated an inquiry on the original officer. Same way I think they cannot be holding your application forever.
I would do these:
1. Write to the office (not the officer) a polite email in a week or 10 days providing you dates and you're waiting for xxx time and saying you would appreciate any update. This is to possibly get a second pair of eyes to review your application.
2. If you don't get a response then, file for GCMS.
If nothing happens, I think you can try Mandamus.
Hopefully yours will get resolved soon and don't have to take that route.
