If I live outside Canada, may I sponsor?
If you are a Canadian citizen, you may sponsor a spouse, a common-law partner or conjugal partner, or a dependent child who has no children of his or her own. However, you must demonstrate that you will live in Canada when the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.
Note:
Permanent residents residing abroad may not sponsor from outside of Canada. Canadian citizens travelling as tourists are not considered to be residing abroad.
引自CIC网站：
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp
红色字体翻译过来意思应该是这样的吧：加拿大公民如果旅游到加拿大境外，不会被当作是定居国外。言外之意会不会就是，居民如果旅游到加拿大境外，就不是这么回事了。