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Provincial election results on Tuesday highlight the need for all parties to work to bridge the growing divide between urban and rural voters in B.C., say political observers.

“I find it disconcerting to have this very stark division,” Hamish Telford, associate professor and head of the political science department at University of the Fraser Valley, said in an interview Wednesday.

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“We see a real divergence in political culture and economy playing out.”

Norman Ruff, associate professor emeritus of political science at the University of Victoria, said there have always been distinct regional patterns to the B.C. vote, but 2017 highlighted a deepening urban-rural divide.

“The current economic and cultural contrasts between the North and the Interior with Vancouver and the Lower Mainland effectively define two British Columbias,” Ruff said.

“While one lags behind in its continued dependence on a dwindling natural resource-based economy, and in a sense still looks backward for its future, the other continues an exponential growth in diversity and enjoys a transition to an entirely new economy.”