I think the sentence is actually making a reference back to the loyalists which it mentions near the beginning of the article as well. It is talking about Canad

I think the sentence is actually making a reference back to the loyalists which it mentions near the beginning of the article as well. It is talking about Canadians and not Canada. The loyalists did indeed leave what was then known as the 12 colonies so that they could remain loyal to the crown. The sentence is ignoring nuance (like the fact that Canada is made up of more than just loyalists) so it can make a rhetorically amusing point.