The new book by Hugh Segal, Conservative senator and longtime party operative (including a stint as Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s chief of staff), is among the most engaging of the books attempting to situate and explicate Canadian conservatism that have been published since Stephen Harper’s ascension to the prime minister’s office. While it is by no means a page-turner, The Right Balance is downright peppy compared to many of its predecessors. And even though the book leaves little doubt about Segal’s devotion to the conservative (and Conservative) cause, it may be a little more palatable to those who don’t share his partisan fervour than recent titles by Bob Plamondon (Blue Thunder) and Brian Lee Crowley (Fearful Symmetry).

Segal covers some of the same ground as both those authors. He argues there exists a Canadian conservatism that is unique from its forebears in Great Britain and France, as well as being distinct from its louder cousin in the U.S. Canadian conservatism is grounded in what Segal calls the “‘nation and enterprise’ stream,” which he describes as being focused on the common interest of the people and not special interests – in particular, big business.

Taking us through the careers of John A. Macdonald, Robert Borden, and R.B. Bennett, Segal makes a convincing case for his vision of Canadian conservatism. But in chapters dedicated to two more recent right-wing prime ministers – Mulroney and Harper – Segal has a tougher case to make, especially in regard to the extremist roots of the Harper administration. It is here that the book shifts from a survey of Canadian conservatism to a subtle plea from one of the nation’s last prominent Red Tories to preserve the traces of that more progressive aspect of the party’s past.

In “The Battle for a Balanced Future,” the book’s final chapter, Segal addresses the Tea Party movement in the U.S. and what he sees as the limited influence of American conservatism in this country. He claims that “Canadian conservatives do not generally seek modest and restrained government for ideological purposes,” which, for anyone who lived through the Mike Harris years in Ontario or the first few months of Rob Ford’s Toronto or the last five years of Harper’s minority government (see, for example, the long-form census flap), is mostly laughable. But Segal’s claim leads into the book’s conclusion, in which the author issues a carefully calibrated plea to the Conservative Party leadership to remember its roots, and maybe even restore them.