Of course I will report on how it went. I have a visa to the USA and I will try to go through the USA
REMINDER: This venue is NOT appropriate for obtaining advice. Any advice here, beyond the obvious platitudes or restatements or paraphrasing of the rules, or descriptions of actual procedures, should be discounted as NOT reliable on its face.
Among reasons to obtain ADVICE from a licensed professional is the capacity to engage in CONFIDENTIAL communications with the professional. This is a critical element in obtaining reliable advice. An expert will need to know as much about the details in your situation as you can practically explain . . . and this demands the confidentiality of a lawyer-client relationship.
Wrangling about the details in this forum will NOT illuminate much. Opinions here about what will for sure happen are notoriously NOT reliable.
Since you are clearly in breach of the PR Residency Obligation, there are some basic choices:
-- forget about Canada and pursue other opportunities in life
-- renounce PR status and make a new application to immigrate to Canada
-- apply for a PR Travel Document, and in it explain the reasons for and circumstances of your absence, specifically asking that you be allowed to keep PR status based for H&C reasons
-- travel to Canada via the U.S. and enter Canada at a land crossing
If you are strongly vested in trying to save your PR status, only the last option offers much of a chance (and that is probably not a good chance). You indicate this is your plan. If so, prepare accordingly, including being prepared for the various contingencies . . . especially the contingency of being reported at the border and issued a Departure Order.
And, indeed, as most have noted, albeit expressing more certainty as to what will happen than they can possibly know, the odds are high you will be reported at the border . . .
you can still enter Canada, make an appeal, stay and work and live in Canada pending the appeal. (You obviously know this, but this almost always warrants repeating.)
Since you are clearly in breach of the RO, your case on appeal will depend on how the IAD perceives your H&C grounds. Some factors influencing this have been discussed here. HOWEVER H&C cases are TRICKY, they vary considerably, and even if you read two dozen of the IAD decisions with roughly corresponding circumstances, that will still offer you NO MORE than a general idea about what to expect. Once you are here, however, you can see a Canadian lawyer and obtain assistance in making the best case you can.
BUT sure, if you are reported and staying while the appeal is pending, there will be logistical hurdles, some practical difficulties, in actually coming and staying and working. The extent to which you can handle those contingencies depends on your particular situation and capacity to navigate the storm.
That said, it appears more than an occasional PR in breach is waived through at the border. If that happens, you can stay, work, and generally live in Canada indefinitely . . . and as long as you do not leave or make an application to IRCC (such as to sponsor a child or to get a new PR card) FOR TWO FULL YEARS, once the two years is past the breach of the RO is cured, and you could then proceed to sponsor children, apply for a new card, and be confident about settling into a life in Canada. Even doing this will entail significant logistical, practical difficulties.
And, again, as many have observed, the odds of being waived into Canada at the border, without being reported, are NOT good. How bad they are, that is largely a guess. (CAUTION: be sure to stick to the truth. Do not be evasive or even vague in responding to questions. Absolutely make NO false statements. Your best chances depend on making a POSITIVE impression, which depends a great deal on how credible you are.)
It MIGHT (but only MIGHT) help to be prepared to fully explain your situation and the reasons why you were outside Canada so long. Just the facts. Just the truth. Do not be dissuaded by opinions here about what are considered H&C reasons. Just be prepared to tell your story, honestly explaining your reasons. They probably will not work BUT that is the best shot you have. Border officials tend to be more lenient than the IAD, and a lot, lot more lenient than Visa Officers (making decisions on PR TD applications).
Again, if reported you still get to enter Canada. And you can appeal and stay as long as the appeal is pending. You can seek out an immigration lawyer at that time, once you are IN Canada, and in a position to meet with a lawyer in person. And get help from the lawyer in making the best case you can in the appeal. How it will go, that's a wide open question BUT sure, as others emphasize, the odds are NOT good . . . but if you can afford making the move notwithstanding the risks, and that is WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, you are still a PR and that is a choice you can make.
BUT trying to sort out what will "fly" here, in this forum, is a distraction. There is widespread misunderstanding here about how H&C reasons are evaluated by the IAD. In the most general sense, the IAD is primarily focused on whether the PR deserves to keep PR status. Thus, for example, contrary to some opinions expressed here, some factors which are typically considered to be negative factors (such as staying abroad due to personal choices) can actually HELP make the case. Again, these cases are tricky. It gets complicated. Very complicated. No one here can competently guide you in navigating this . . .
. . . if you are prepared to make the gamble, and it is a gamble, you come, you honestly lay your cards on the table, and you see how it goes . . .
. . . and if reported upon arrival, you get to play another hand (in the appeal), the next time with the help of a lawyer.
But, of course, a lawyer cannot change the facts. The facts are what they are. You play the hand you have. All a lawyer can do is help you play that hand a little better.