Bluto/Brutus appears as a stereotypical French Canadian trapper/miner/tough guy here.
Popeye wears a blue sailor suit in this episode.
The Klondike refers to a section of the Yukon, in Canada, famous for the 1896 gold rush. Nome, however, is in Alaska, though it, too, had a gold rush stampede in the 19th century.
The grey seal who propels the frozen Popeye out of the icy water then breaks the fourth wall for a brief second after he swallows a fish.