A Canadian citizen is a person who is Canadian by birth or who has applied for Canadian citizenship through Citizenship and Immigration Canada and has received a citizenship certificate. You are probably a Canadian citizen if you were born in Canada. You may also be a Canadian citizen if you were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent.
A permanent resident is not a Canadian citizen but has the right to enter and remain in Canada. Permanent residents are citizens of other countries. A permanent resident must live in Canada for two years of every five years or risk losing their permanent resident status. A Record of Landing form (issued prior to 2002), Confirmation of Permanent Residence form, and Permanent Resident Card all provide official proof of status of permanent residency in Canada.
Protected Persons are individuals who hold a valid Verification of Status document issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or a valid Protected Persons Status Document issued prior to January 1, 2013. A decision letter (“Notice of Decision”) from the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) is also a valid form of identification. Protected Persons can include convention refugees, humanitarian-protected persons abroad, and persons in need of protection. A person in need of protection is a person in Canada whose removal to their country of nationality or former habitual residence will make them subject to the possibility of torture, risk of life, or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.
A Protected Person is defined in subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada).