[2] Jack White conceived the idea of touring Canada after learning that Scottish relatives on his father's side had lived for a few generations in Nova Scotia before relocating to Detroit to work in the car factories.

The film ends with footage of them after the concert later that evening; Jack plays "White Moon" for Meg on piano, which leaves her crying silently in his arms.

Exclusive components to the box set includes a live 7" single featuring "Icky Thump" on one side and "The Wheels on the Bus" (records live in Winnipeg on July 2, 2007) on the other, a 208-page hardcover book of photographs from the tour, one of six possible silkscreen prints, and a DVD of the band's 10th anniversary show in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, entitled Under Nova Scotian Lights.

[14][15] Aggregator Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned Under Great White Northern Lights a score of 78 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[16] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork felt that the box set reinforces "the White Stripes' mythology and displays the awesome power of their live show".

"[18] Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote "Since a big part of the Stripes’ live show also rests on their visuals, the Under Great White Northern Lights DVD gives the complete experience, but this album is satisfying enough to make it a must for most fans.

"[19] Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly commented that the album "does a great job of highlighting both sides of The White Stripes' carefully controlled public persona.

For as long as the lack of a proper live release has created a hole in their otherwise peerless catalog, the delayed appearance of this record was well worth the wait and is an inarguably deserving crown on the superlative career-thus-far of Jack and Meg.

If you’ve regrettably missed out on the band’s raging, unrivaled live show, this set does the volume-cranking, sweltering intensity they create some overdue justice.

In achieving this, Northern Lights captures the live show as circus, the aura where group participation and the raggedness of improvisation supersedes a faithful rendering of songs, an interpretation that, if not always satisfying to listen to, is at least fascinating to behold.

"[25] Andy Gill of The Independent commented that the album and the film is "a strong affirmation of the principles of directness and immediacy which have served The White Stripes so well.

[4] Entertainment Weekly gave the live release an A, saying that "this concert CD/DVD does a great job of highlighting both sides of the Stripes' carefully controlled public persona," and that "if UGWNL is their last hurrah, it's one hell of a goodbye.

Several outlets commented on how the film's behind-the-scenes footage highlighted the difference between Jack's extroverted, "boisterous"[4] personality and Meg's quiet nature—with her statements even being put in subtitles.

[53][4] Rolling Stone noted that Meg's shyness "gives the film a subtext",[4] considering that, shortly after the conclusion of the Canadian leg, the band canceled the rest of their tour dates due to her "acute anxiety,"[54] and never played another concert.