A movie about a man who befriends a cougar. The movie is set in Canada or
Alaska and was made in the 1970s.

Hello.

It sounds like you're describing "Charlie the Lonesome Cougar" (1967).

From Amazon.com:

"Originally filmed in 1967 in the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific
Northwest, the scenery and wildlife are absolutely spectacular. The
story is somewhat formulaic, but entertaining just the same. A
forester named Jess adopts an abandoned cougar he names Charlie,
nursing him from an eyedropper and enduring many sleepless nights in
the process."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6300275825/

From Disney:

"Lost, abandoned, and frightened, a young cougar is discovered and
"adopted" by a rugged lumberman named Jess Bradley (Ron Brown). Dubbed
"Good Time Charlie," the cat soon lives a carefree, domestic life
among the rugged logging camps of the Pacific Northwest. But Charlie
is torn between this unusual way of life and his true wildlife
instincts ..."
http://disneyvideos.disney.go.com/moviefinder/products/3362903.html

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search strategy:
movie cougar alaska
charlie "lonesome cougar"
charlie "lonesome cougar" jess

I hope this is the film that you had in mind. If not, please let me
know via the "request clarification" feature. Thanks.

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Request for Answer Clarification by skiter-ga on 17 Nov 2004 20:26 PST

Juggler: I don't think this is the movie, because I recall it being
called something like, "When the North Winds Shall Blow"--though I
can't seen to find a movie with that title anywhere. It also was set
in deep winter--mostly heavy snow scenes--not a logger camp. Any
clues?

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 17 Nov 2004 20:42 PST

When the North Wind Blows
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072399/

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 17 Nov 2004 20:44 PST

In the family film When the North Wind Blows, an old trapper flees
into the woods of Alaska after accidentally wounding his friend's son.
Once he's in the wilderness, he befriends a family of snow tigers and
protects them from various other hunters and trappers
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=54181

My researcher found all the information I needed in less than an hour. Thanks!

Thanks for the tip.

The video seems to be rather rare, but a PAL-format copy (which would
have to be converted to play on a North American VCR) is currently for
sale on eBay UK:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=72411&item=6340277690&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

-juggler