I hear this a lot...and it's false.
There was no such thing as a Candian citizen when Naismith was born...in fact there was no such thing as a Candian citizen when Naismith died.
Revisionism at it's finest...besides, the game was based on a Native American game...invented in the US, by a guy who was an American citizen before Canadian citizenship even existed, and who served in the United States military. American game...and Naismith was an American. He was never a Canadian citizen, in his entire life.