[MarchHare]

I think that is way over stated ...

regionalism in Canada has cast a shadow over all national politics. Many (clearly don't have the stats) in Ontario are voting Liberal just to make sure Alberta can't wrestle power away from Ontario in national affairs. That's not hatred for a conservative platform it's fear of a regional shift in power.

I'm not so sure of that. I've been following similar discussions as this one on two other forums, and the overall impression I get from people who continue to support the Liberals is that they fear a Conservative government and the policies they would bring. I never got a sense at all that the rest of Canada was anti-Alberta or anything, but I think virtually everyone can acknowledge the fact that the brand of conservatism that is popular in this province is anything but elsewhere.

Anyway, here's some sample comments. Granted, this is by no means a scientific representative sample of the opinions of the majority of Canadians, but anecdotally these might show you why some people are choosing to continue to support the Liberal Party, and regionalism certainly isn't it.

This scandal bothers me a lot. I'm traditionally a Liberal voter, and a Martin supporter, but this is enough for me to not vote for them. I can't vote for the NDP, as I lived under their thumb in Ontario, and watched as they destroyed BC to the best of their abilites. They're bad for Canada. I can't vote for the Conservatives, because they embody everything I despise about the Republicans, without the protections that the US has (separation of church and state, for example). They're bad for Canada. Being on the right-wing fringe of the Liberals, I would vote PC, but they're gone, so where does that leave me? Disenfranchised.

I would rather have Martin, who is doing his best to find out what is happening here than Harper, who's policies (hidden and unhidden) I completely disagree with.

I'd rather have a little corruption than watch the Conservative social agenda be implemented.

The main point for me is that most governments have had corruption or a member whose actions tarnished the trust of the people...The system in place stinks....the democratic defecit stinks...Harper is not going to change that and him and his parties ideology scares me!

Sure, now it;s JUST same sex marriage but it WILL lead to other changes like reduction of womens rights and a foreign policy that most Canadians don't want...

I'll admit right now that I lean towards the Liberal party (on the federal political scene). This doesn't mean I haven't and won't consider alternatives. But for me (and this is my personal opinion), I can't consider the Conservative party as it stands now. Resurrecting the PC party (which is more moderate) gives Canadians like myself a true alternative to the Liberal party.

Should the Conservative party change it's tune and start playing to the more moderate voters in the country, they really stand a chance of winning. The federal Liberal party has done a fantastic job of playing to the middle. It's something I think the Conservatives should learn from.

I don't trust the Conservatives. I don't trust their judgement, and I don't trust their motives.

Their support of the Iraq war, and their calls for Canadian involvement in the Iraq war, was enough to ensure that I will not be voting for them for a LONG LONG time.

[...]

To me, the Conservative party seems to be an importation of American Politics Lite! into Canada: The alarmist rhetoric aimed at hot buttons (child pornography!), the earnest willingness to glue their lips to US asscheeks (Iraq, NMD), focus on the military, flirtation with private health care, and incessant calls for lower taxes without any justification as to how it's going to improve the state of our nation.

All of the above quotes are from this thread.

And there's more from here:

I'd rather vote for a party that'll steal money from me (as if that's anything new, most taxes nowadays are squandered so badly it's practically stealing anyway) than a party that aims to be a US lapdog.

And to be fair, here's one post from that second link that does touch on your issue of fear of Western regionalism:

Personally, the Conservatives have lost my vote. I went for Harper last, and a Conservative was elected in my riding, but I'll be voting Liberal the next time out because I just don't like or trust the Conservatives when it comes to social policy. The Western regionalism bothers me a lot, as does the party's big ties to wingnut fundamentalist Christianity. And -- this is lame, I know -- Harper himself is cold and creepy. He doesn't seem trustworthy at all. I really wish Peter McKay had emerged as Conservative leader. Maybe he'll have a shot at taking over after Harper loses another election.

As I said though, the impression I get from most of those other posts I quoted was a distinct dislike of the Conservative Party's platform, not a fear of Ontario losing power to Alberta.

As for your second point, I completely agree that this will be good for the country in the longterm. Despite my support of the policies of the Liberal Party, I wouldn't mind seeing a short-lived Conservative minority. Although I'm reserving my judgement until the final results of the Gomery Inquiry are released, I don't believe Martin or any current Liberals were involved in the scandal, but the system itself needs more oversight when this kind of corruption is only discovered by the Auditor General nearly a decade after it began. If nothing else, this should lead to better watchdogs on how the various departments spend their budgets.