I don't think this is the case here. Most big holders currently are Canadian. This financing has US interest written all over it. There aren't really any big US sellers in the stock since ownership is mainly Canadian.

The whole point is diversify the shareholder base and get US exposure. The 44-101 route instead of the PP route is either for a bought-deal or marketed offering, which as you correctly stated, removes the 4-month hold restriction. This will allow the US investment banks to resell the securities to their clients.