Solidifying Gains

Now that the Conservative Party of Canada has succeeded in winning an election, there is a spate of books on the disintegration and rebuilding of the party. William Johnson has brought out a second edition of Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada, and Bob Plamondon’s Full Circle: Death and Resurrection in Canadian Conservative Politics is already for sale. These and other books still to come may be longer and more packed with information than Hugh Segal’s The Long Road Back: The Conservative Journey, 1993–2006, but none is likely to convey so much wisdom.

The words “road” and “journey” in the title lead the reader to expect a narrative account. Indeed, the narrative is there, but it is not entirely reliable as history because it seems to be based mainly on Senator Segal’s recollections and impressions. That’s fine when he is writing about events in which he was a participant, but it is not so accurate when he was not personally involved...