Nordicity is the degree of northernness. The concept was developed by Canadian geographer Louis-Edmond Hamelin in the 1960s based on previous work done in the Soviet Union. Hamelin's point was that northern territories – like northern Canada – cannot be identified based on a single criterion, but that there was a continuum based on a number of natural and human factors.

Hamelin developed an index he called Valeur polaires (Polar values) or VAPO, where the North Pole had a VAPO of 1000. The nordicity index had 10 natural and human components:

Each component was graded on the scale of 0-100 where 100 represented extreme nordicity, with the VAPO representing the sum of these ten components. Hamelin proposed that areas with a VAPO of more than 200 should be considered in "the North". He subdivided Canada into Extreme North, Far North, Middle North, and Near North based on their VAPO. Using the VAPO, most of Canada outside the Southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, the Prairies, the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, and most of the Maritimes exhibits some degree of nordicity. [1]. At the other end, the Extreme North included the northern portion of Canada's Arctic Archipelago. The rest of the archipelago and tundra zone as well as parts of the boreal forest were included in the Far North.