PR card renewal - earliest time I can apply

[EU_2010]

Hi! My PR card will expire in June 2019. I know this is still a long time to go until then but I am starting to worry about travel while in the renewal process. Under the old rules, I would have already been able for citizenship (been here for 7 years), but since days on work permits before obtaining the PR (in my case, 4+ years) no longer count, I have to be in the country those 1400+ days since landing. That gets me roughly to March 2018. Since I spend a large part of my vacation allowance on trips overseas - always maxing out weekends, and also traveling a couple of weeks a year on business - I recently counted the days spent outside of Canada since these will further delay my first possible application date for citizenship. I'm already at 200 days out so far. This means that realistically, it will be spring 2019 until I can apply for citizenship. I cannot get into a situation where my PR card is expired and I can't leave the country for any amount of time.
I believe my best bet will be to renew my PR card and apply for citizenship after I receive the new PR card. Can I already apply for the card mid/end of 2018? Depending on how long it takes to get the new card, I want to make sure I won't be grounded at any time.

 

[scylla]

You can apply for a new PR card up to 9 months before it is due to expire.

 

[EU_2010]

Thank you for the quick reply! That is great news. I assume I will still be able to travel with the old one while that process is on its way?
My parents are going to be nearing 80 at that point and being grounded for any amount of time just makes me very very nervous....