OpenVisaCan my spouse visit Canada while the outland application is in process?
Wanting to stay later doesn't bar you from visiting now.
Yes: wanting to immigrate doesn't bar someone from visiting while an outland (Family Class) application is processed. Each entry is judged on visitor rules, and the pending application is a known fact, not a secret.
1. What does the law say?
An intention by a foreign national to become a permanent resident does not preclude them from becoming a temporary resident if the officer is satisfied that they will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay.
That is dual intent. You can say, on a visitor application and at the border, that you have a sponsorship in process and are visiting your spouse.
2. What does the visitor still have to show?
That the visit will end: a return ticket, a job or studies to go back to, a lease or property at home, family responsibilities, money for the trip. The sponsor's situation doesn't replace that; the test is about the visitor's own ties. A temporary resident visa (TRV) is needed for most nationalities. Visa-exempt travellers need an electronic travel authorization (eTA) to fly in, and US citizens need neither.
3. Can the visitor stay for the whole processing time?
A visitor is usually admitted for up to 6 months and can apply to extend from inside Canada before that period ends. Long stays are legal; what changes is the picture at the next entry, and a visitor who has effectively moved in may be asked harder questions at the border. Living in Canada with the sponsor throughout is what the inland class is for (inland or outland).
4. Does a refused visitor visa hurt the sponsorship?
Not directly; they are different applications with different tests. The refusal does have to be disclosed on future forms. Reapplying with stronger ties evidence is common. The answers on both applications have to be consistent.
5. On the form
The sponsorship forms don't ask about visits in advance, but the travel history (IMM 5562) needs every trip to Canada listed with dates, and the visits count as relationship evidence too.
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.