The article deals with problems of realization of the dictionary meanings, the word-formative and phrase forming potential of the lexeme «north» in Canadian author’s (Farley Mowat) novels. On the basis of dictionary definitions and texts, she analyzes the linguistic surrounding of the lexeme «north». The author reveals more frequent and less current derivatives of the lexeme «north». More frequent derivatives of the lexeme north are the following: northern, northward, northwest and less current are northeast, northlands and others. Farley Mowat’s novels contain high percentage of different words, phrases and word combinations that are related to definite cognitive aspect (direction, cardinal point — 94 %) and less presented cognitive aspects (lying in the northern part of the earth — 5 %, northern citizen — 1 %). The author reconstructs presentations of north in the Canadian language consciousness on the basis of text fragments. Hence, the lexeme north is widely spread in Canadian author’s novels (has high word-formative and phrase forming potential adding more definitions to those that were fixed in the dictionaries).