In 1903, before political parties were a part of British Columbia politics, Lieutenant Governor Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière was the last lieutenant governor in Canada to dismiss from office an incumbent premier, Edward Gawler Prior; Prior had been found to have given an important construction contract to his own hardware business, though he was later appointed as lieutenant governor himself. In 1952, the lieutenant governor was, without a clear majority in the Legislature following the general election, required to exercise his personal judgement in selecting his premier. Though the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) (now the New Democratic Party) held one fewer seat than the Social Credit Party (SoCred), Lieutenant Governor Clarence Wallace was under pressure to call on the CCF leader to form the new Cabinet; however, Wallace went with SoCred leader W.A.C. Bennett, which resulted in the start of a twenty-year dynasty for the latter.