n. — slang, often Politics
a nickname for Canada.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — The term appears to have been coined by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, poet laureate during the reign of Queen Victoria, in his poem "To the Queen", in which he refers to Canada as "that true North". Tennyson apparently wrote the poem in response to an editorial in The Times on October 30th, 1872, in which it was suggested that Canada separate from Britain (see the 1873 quotation and Colombo (1994: 57)). The term was appropriated by Canadians, among them poet Agnes Maule Machar, who wrote Lays of the 'True North,' and Other Canadian Poems in response to Tennyson's ode (see the 1899 quotation). The term true north was popularized shortly after due to its inclusion in the national anthem "O Canada", in which the country is described as "The True North strong and free!". This line, which currently forms part of the official anthem proclaimed in 1980, was first included in the 1908 version of the song that was composed by Robert Stanley Weir (see Canadian Heritage reference). Today, the name has acquired significant cultural salience, comparable to Canuck; a prestige term that is found in proper names, such as company names (see, e.g., the 2016 quotation).
See also COD-2, s.v. "true north", which is marked "Cdn informal".