OpenVisaDo I need to tell IRCC if I leave Canada during an inland application?
The risk is at the border on the way back, not at the airport on the way out.
A short trip doesn't have to be reported; the condition of the inland class is cohabiting in Canada when the application is assessed. The practical risk is getting back in.
1. What is the condition?
… (a) are the spouse or common-law partner of a sponsor and cohabit with that sponsor in Canada; (b) have temporary resident status in Canada…
IRCC publishes no number of days; the condition is cohabiting in Canada when the application is assessed.
2. What is the practical risk?
Re-entry. A pending inland application doesn't give you a right to enter. You come back as whatever you are, a visitor, worker or student, and the officer at the border decides on that basis.
Leaving Canada can automatically cancel temporary resident status as a visitor, student or worker.
If your spouse or common-law partner leaves Canada before becoming a permanent resident, they may not be allowed to come back. This is especially true if they need a Temporary Resident Visa or an eTA to enter Canada.
If your spouse or partner can’t return to Canada, you must submit a new overseas sponsorship application.
Before travelling, check four things. Leaving can end temporary resident status, as quoted above, and maintained status ends when you leave, so check what status you'll have when you come back. Your status document has to be valid for the return date. You need a valid visitor visa or eTA if your nationality requires one. And you need proof of the pending application and your ties in Canada to show at the border.
3. Do I have to notify IRCC?
Not for a short trip. You do have to keep your contact details current, and if you end up outside Canada longer than planned, the IRCC web form is the route for telling IRCC. If you're asked to give biometrics, do a medical or attend an interview while away, the deadline still applies. Biometrics and medicals can be done abroad, and an extension has to be requested, not assumed.
4. What if we need to travel a lot?
Guide 5289 lists this among the reasons to apply under the Family Class (outland):
the person you want to sponsor currently lives with you in Canada but doesn’t plan to stay in Canada while the application is being processed
The class is chosen before filing, and there is no switch (inland or outland).
5. On the form
None of the sponsorship forms asks about trips after you submit; the travel history (IMM 5562) covers the 10 years before. Changes after submitting go through the IRCC web form (what must be reported).
OpenVisa is software, not a lawyer or RCIC. This page explains what the rules and forms say; it is not advice about your case. You submit your application yourself.