The BC Liberals have officially claimed a minority government.

A final recount of the tightest election race in the province has declared the NDP victorious in Courtenay-Comox, leaving the Liberals with 43 seats to the NDP’s 41 – and one seat shy of a majority.

NDP candidate Ronna-Rae Leonard edged out her Liberal rival Jim Benninger in the Vancouver Island riding after a final count of absentee and out-of-area ballots found her to be victorious.

Leonard ended up with 10,618 votes to Benninger’s 10,470. The difference of 189 votes means a judicial recount will not be triggered.

Final counts have now concluded for the province’s 87 ridings without any changing hands since the May 9 election.

That leaves the BC Liberals with 43 seats, the NDP with 41 seats and the Green Party holding the balance of power in the B.C. Legislature with three seats.

Premier Christy Clark released a statement just before the results were made public at 4:40 p.m., saying with a plurality in the legislature, “we have a responsibility to move forward and form a government.”

She said the final results reinforced that British Columbians want to see all three parties working across party lines.

Speaking at a news conference shortly after, NDP Leader John Horgan said a majority of British Columbians voted for change, and he’s working to give them that in talks with the Greens.

“I do know that 60 per cent of British Columbians have voted for a new government, and they haven’t got one yet,” said Horgan. “I’ve been talking to the leader of the Green Party and his team and I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to put together a framework that has a majority for support in the legislature. We don’t have that today.”

Horgan said he’s been talking about common issues with the Greens such as proportional representation and banning big money from politics.

He said he also didn’t plan to file a judicial recount request for any ridings.

Green Leader Andrew Weaver spoke to reporters at the legislature shortly after Horgan, saying the party is still in “productive” talks with both the NDP and Liberals.

Weaver said he wants to secure a deal with a party that is long-term prior to the writ returning by next Wednesday.

“There is a burden of responsibility that has been bestowed upon us that we take very, very seriously,” he said. “So right now, we’re very focused on actually trying to work out an agreement with one or the other party in order to ensure that we put British Columbians’ interests first.”

Weaver said he could also support either party on a bill-by-bill basis, though he wants to provide B.C. residents with stability in the legislature.

Weaver reiterated the party’s goals of banning big money from politics, implementing a proportional representation electoral system and securing the Greens official party status in the B.C. Legislature.

He also said Clark erred in her “premature” statement saying the Liberals had a responsibility to continue to govern.

“The premier has a responsibility to ensure that she gains the confidence of the house to form government. That is her responsibility at this juncture,” said Weaver. “We have not tested the confidence of the house yet, but negotiations are ongoing.”