Prior to the publication of The Sense of Power most studies of the Canadian movement for imperial unity focused on commercial policy and military and naval cooperation. This influential book demonstrated that the movement - which held that Canada could only become a great nation within the British Empire - was significantly influenced by its leading advocates' belief in nationalism. Carl Berger explores the emotional appeal and intellectual context of this belief, arguing that these advocates' support of imperial unity can be grasped only in terms of their commitment to certain conservative values and in relation to their conception of Canada.