n. — informal, humorous
a name for Canada.
Type: 3. Semantic Change — The term originally denoted the north of Canada. For example, a short 1928 movie entitled "The Great White North" (directed by H. A. Snow) records aspects of life in the arctic. However, it has undergone generalization and now generally refers to all of Canada. In this sense, it was used as the name of a recurring television segment on the SCTV program "The Great White North", featuring the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie (played by comedians Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas), which first aired in 1980; the term is now widely (but not exclusively) associated with Canada. The television show popularized a number of Canadian expressions, such as hoser, take off, eh? and have a good day, eh? (see Boberg 2010: 45).