OP, I am a Canadian living abroad as well and I had the same question on my first return to Canada as a non-resident. They need to determine your residency status for customs/duty policies. If you have a bunch of stuff with you that you bought in China you are liable for duties if the goods remain in Canada which would be "normal" if you are a resident. Generally they are super easy-going with Canadian nationals who are non-residents as there is almost nothing to "catch" you for aside from the alcohol/tobacco limits and, of course, restricted/prohibited items.

Fill out the entry card as a non-resident (i.e. fill the boxes that ask you how many days you are staying and the Yes/No box about exceeding duty limits). You do not need to fill the ones with the value of goods you are bringing back like you would if you are a resident. Along with your foreign address on the card, this will signal you are a non-resident.

Insert Canada as country Z and I have yet to find a response that makes them happy. For a country that is thought of as friendly, CBSA missed the memo, even to citizens.

That's true, but as I said above, CBSA has no say in the matter of letting Canadians into Canada. They must let you in, even if they are unfriendly about it.

It would not, however, be inappropriate to ask about the purpose of the travel to other locations and places visited. The answers, even when known to border officials, are often used to determine the level of inspection for customs as opposed to immigration purposes.

Few countries would permit their border officials to deny entry to an individual who presents proof of nationality and refuses to say anything more. But, most can make the rest of the entry experience a thoroughly unpleasant experience if they wish.

I agree with you completely on both points. I'm not suggesting being unnecessarily obtuse during the process, simply that there comes a point when the small man in the big chair oversteps his authority, and the affected traveller should know not to acquiesce to the interrogation.

Nice story, but this is a different case as OP holds the Canadian citizenship and they won't be able to throw him out. That doesn't mean that you can treat IOs like s*** though.

I'm confused as to why you are confused.

If you are visiting family and then traveling to a different city for business....why not answer "both"?

I think your friend would've had a problem with most countries with that answer.

After a lengthy business trip that took me through 6 countries in Africa and Europe I was questioned at YYZ about where I had visited. No problem.

Then he got into why I was out of the country, what I was doing there and who I met with. I drew the line right there and explained I was a returning Canadian citizen, a resident, wasn't going to answer any more of his questions and to send me to secondary.

He scowled, scribbled on my landing card and off I went fully expecting to spend the next several hours there. I was waved through the next stops, gathered up my bags and went home. :)

Maybe he should have said he was there for "business", just "Flight of the Conchords" style:

So you're a citizen of country Z, correct? Just say you're going back to work. There should be no problem since you're a citizen there. Why do you want to make it complicated for yourself?

Yes, you do need to be careful on this one. For example, as UK citizen entering the US on the VWP, you are restricted as to what kind of work you can do. Answering "business" will inevitably (IME) end up with a series of follow-up questions to determine what kind of thing you'll be doing.

I've had some bizarre exchanges, usually in ORD, where I've been unable to figure out whether it's a tactic to ensure I'm being consistent, or just an officer being weird. Lines like "I can't understand how you can do your job, if you're out of your office most of the time" (I was a consultant at the time). Mind you, I had committed one of the biggest sins on that occasion: not remembering the dates I'd last been in the US (I was going to the US a couple of times a year at that point, but travelling internationally every couple of weeks. Sorry, America, you're not so special that I have the dates I visited inscribed upon my memory - although I do look it up when I'm on the plane these days).

(Another odd exchange was at JFK, where, on saying we were here visiting friends and on holiday, the immigration officer went off into an unprovoked, bizarre rant about how busy the place was because so many people, from all over the world, were so desperate to come to New York. Much as I think NY is a wonderful city, and much as I appreciate the "bring us your poor, your tired, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to be free" ethos, I did have to bite my tongue to avoid pointing out that he wasn't helping how busy it was by wasting several minutes with his rant, and that we'd just arrived from LHR, an airport that handles 30% more passengers than JFK. But, you know, it's nice that he's proud of his job, we could all do with more of that...)

So I tend to answer "holiday/vacation" [depending on country], "business meetings" or "in transit to [x] [with/without a stopover]". It seems to go more smoothly that way.

DieselYVR how does one determine if they are a resident or non-resident of Canada? I heard its different from CRA/taxes point of view (which i am a non resident and do not have to pay taxes on my income in china.)

Sorry for confusing you guys I was just curious if the officer was interested in knowing why I came back to Canada or why I left for China in the first place

I probably wouldn't do this coming into the UK (and clearly it was the UK mentioned here), partly because I'm not brave enough and partly because the process no longer involves human interaction. But the UK is a country where you could be reasonably confident that it wouldn't end too badly - there are strict limits on the powers of all government officials, whereas that doesn't seem to be the case in many other places.