By any measure, Canada is a success story. According to the recent United Nations World Happiness Report, we are ranked the world’s 7th happiest country (out of 156 listed). Yet more and more Canadians have lost their connection with where this all came from. Confederation was crafted by men conversant with the great traditions of Western political thought. What happens to our contemporary political culture, wonders David Livingstone, when we neglect these works and the permanent ideals they express? We need to remember, Livingstone argues, that our constitutional form of government is founded on enduring principles and should not be viewed as ongoing construction project.