This is a great topic to bring up. I have been struggling with it for some time as well.
I collect C46 and C52, a clone of the boxing and multi-sport T218 set. Both are attributed to Imperial Tobacco in every resource I can find, with no real evidence to support it. The C52's are clearly printed by American Lithographic, the printer of T218, and many have been found in Canada. Those two points are facts, however, most of my C52's came from an original collection in the American South, and Imperial Tobacco is mentioned nowhere on the cards, or in any documents from the time, or in any known ads, etc. I'm not sold that the C52 were even solely a Canadian issue.
Any set with a Canadian association and/or has card numbers seems to be said to be an Imperial Tobacco set, as if it is a known fact. This may be true, but I think there are plenty of reasons for doubt and room for other possibilities.
It strikes me as odd that many of these 'Imperial' sets don't mention the brand or company. The Bird Series Ted posted is a great example of the many Imperial issues that do mention the company, and are definitely Imperial cards. Why insert a cigarette card without any advertising, especially when the printer was set up to do this? C46 has no American counterpart, but C52's American clone, T218, features adds for Mecca, Hassan or Tolstoi cigarettes. Wouldn't Imperial want American Lithography to put their name on it, instead of changing the series captions to remove any reference to the brand?
From a larger perspective, I think this is a great example of the importance of separating opinions and proposed ideas from actual facts in the hobby. Many of the 'facts' listed in guides, books, threads and elsewhere are not facts; they are speculation that is one of several possible explanations that fit the actual facts.
It may well be true, that these and the other sets were all Imperial Tobacco issues. It may be the best explanation and theory for these cards existence and how they were issued and produced. Theories that reasonably fit the known facts are a good thing, but I think the hobby should stop repeating the theories as if they are the true gospel. Very little of what is said about vintage cards can be reasonably proven to be a fact, which is half the fun of researching them and trying to clear up the mysteries, or identify new ones.
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