It appears you are confusing or at least conflating more than just what PRs need to board a flight to Canada versus what PRs can show at a PoE to establish identity and status and be given permission to enter Canada, but also conflating the rules governing travel restrictions related to the measures implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
I'm neither confusing nor conflating. You're trying to generalize a statement that is referring to a specific case.
Specifically, your statement that "U.S. citizens presenting their U.S. passport
will be allowed to board a flight headed to Canada without showing either a PR card (if they are also a Canadian PR) or a Canadian passport (if they are a Canadian citizen). " was historically correct, but is no longer so.
Historically, the airline's documentation requirements were satisfied by a US Passport (or Canadian, or PR card). With the COVID restrictions barring non-essential travel, they are now required to verify that your travel is essential if you do not have proof of PR status. The order in council has legally changed their legal obligations, even if only temporarily.
My point is that even if one has proof of essential travel that one can no longer be guaranteed to fly to Canada on the strength of a US Passport. You may, or may not, be permitted to board. As the screening is done in the US, the CBSA officials who approve what's "essential" are not bound by the same rules they would be at a PoE. In other words,
even if the CBSA determines that you are, in fact, a Permanent Resident, they may still instruct the airline to deny you boarding to Canada.
That part is new. Historically, the decision for US Citizens on admission was made at the PoE. Visa countries had much of the determination made outside of Canada, and the ETA system pushed even more of that decision making outside of Canada. For US Citizens without PR status documents, that decision is now also being made while outside of Canada by Canadian officials.
In any event, to avoid muddying waters, let's be clear;
to reiterate, to board a flight to Canada, there are specific document requirements. For
Canadians attempting to fly to Canada from abroad, the ONLY documents that will suffice are:
-- a valid Canadian PR card, or
-- a valid Canadian passport, or
-- a Travel Document specifically authorizing travel to Canada
If we're going to be accurate here, let's be accurate. Those are the requirements for transport to Canada using a commercial carrier. I've flown to Canada using just my Pilot's license and while it annoys them, it's legal. You can also have an
email from Canada that authorizes flying with a foreign passport if you are a Canadian Citizen.
No amount of evidence of status, even an amount of evidence amounting to overwhelming proof of status, will suffice. The applicable regulations require presentation of one of these specified documents.
We're talking again in the context of the strength of a US Passport, which was previously sufficient. PR cards and PR travel documents are presumptive proof of Status by law, but that does not mean that one can not rebut the presumption of non-status. My documents in this case were relevant, given the exclusions under the OIC. The CBSA ultimately has to decided whether or not a given US Citizen's entry is discretionary or not.
They chose to treat me as a Permanent Resident for purposes of the OIC restrictions (meaning that I was exempt, thus they would ignore H&C/Proof of non-discretionary travel), and then had the airline exclude me for not having the appropriate docs. This was odd in that they would have approved me to travel if I were not a Permanent Resident. That's why my comment is that a US Passport is no longer strong enough to cross the border by commercial carrier.
It's also entirely useless if one is at a land border, as foreign passports don't matter there.
IN CONTRAST, being allowed to enter Canada is about establishing status. No particular documents are necessary.
That much you do have correct.
As
@canuck accurately, correctly observed (and, again, which is contrary to what you asserted), for a PR arriving at a PoE without a valid PR card, having evidence of one's PR status will help facilitate the border officials verification of the traveler's status
They will look you up by UCI, meaning that having an expired card or no card will not affect whether or not you cross the border (though it may save a few minutes). More importantly, presenting an expired card harms you.
, and an expired PR card is good evidence for this purpose. In fact, it is probably the BEST evidence a PR can present if the PR does not have a valid PR card. The next best evidence is a copy of the CoPR.
The CoPR is the approprate document if one does not want to get their residency questioned.
I'm traveling in the US at the moment so I don't have my spreadsheet here, but I have crossed the border over 500 times, making notes and seeing how they respond to various situations. I have crossed with Nexus, without Nexus, using a Washington EDL, US Passport Card, a BC license, even a Canadian pilot's license. I've used my CoPR, volunteered and not volunteered status, used copies of a current PR card, PR card, an expired PR card, a scan of a PR card on my phone, and I've crossed at all times day or night, in all the PoEs in BC and Ontario. I've crossed by air, by boat, by land, by foot, by bike.
When I immigrated to Canada I had some outstanding tax debt. The US was taking passports for back tax debt, so I was highly motivated to ensure that I could still travel to and from the United States (where I have business) and to Canada (where I live). I crossed nearly every single day for 6 months, and multiple times a week over years. Seeing what actually works at the border is kind of my thing.
The odds of getting questioned about my residency are way, way, way higher if I present anything that shows expired on a PR card (either the card itself or a picture/printout of it). Pre-COVID lockdowns, NEXUS was the lowest short of an actual PR card. Percentage wise, I was questioned more about my residency when I presented an expired PR card than when I literally just showed up and went "all I have is my BC license, sorry".
There are other factors that have to be controlled for. Having plates from the province you are in decreases the questioning. Mentioning that I'm applying for citizenship reduced the number of residency questions I got. US plates get more questions, though if the purpose of trip is "shopping" they often don't get to asking for Canada status (again, assuming not COVID).
Many participants in this forum are well familiar with this. But the recurring queries suggest that in the general population of Canadians (both citizens and PRs), there continues to be confusion about the difference between what is needed to fly to Canada versus what will suffice at the border entry itself.
That may be the case generally, but I'm quite aware of the specifics.
