The painter/operating cord activates the raft's inflation system and the raft will inflate, causing the packing bands to break. The buoyancy of the raft will cause the weak link to break allowing the raft to float free from the ship.

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Buoyancy—the upward force water provides to the raft once it’s inflated—causes the release. As the raft inflates, it becomes positively buoyant, and that buoyant force loads the weak link until it breaks, letting the raft detach from the ship and float free. The other terms don’t describe this releasing force: a canopy is just a cover, the hull is the ship’s main body, and pneumatic refers to the inflation system itself rather than the force that frees the raft. So buoyancy is the best answer because it’s the actual force that drives the raft to detach.