The landed immigrant card is supposedly required of anyone who wants to travel out of Canada and return as residents.
Not only do you have to pally but apparently you have to pick up the cards in person at very specific times and places.
If your friend wants to avoid getting it, he'd have to reenter Canada as a non-resident U.S. citizen.
One 84 y.o. woman in the B.C. Interior was told she had to do that the next day and had to drive over 300 km to get to the office.