"One by one, the remaining Alliance bases were overrun, until all that remained was Pluto". We see various Alliance ships, all of them too small to be sleeper ships, flying from Pluto before the Slomon K'Hara vessel shows up.
I do agree on those points. I also agree that the rumour was most likely created for atmossphere.
Also I do think we canucks would jump ship with the americans. We are more connected to each other then any group would care to admit. Also my country is either first or second largest nation in land mass, but our population is smaller then Jamaca's. We could build our own ship, or let the US flip the bill. Its working quite well for our national defense.