The year 1952 saw the beginning of a road-building boom in BC. W.A.C. Bennett from Kelowna was elected premier of the province. He appointed Phil Gaglardi from Kamloops to be Minister of Highways. These two men from the interior of the province knew the importance of roads to link the interior to the West Coast and to the rest of Canada. They thought good roads would help to develop natural resources and would attract people to live in BC. Therefore, narrow roads were widened, and highways were built. The Bennett government was soon called the “Blacktop Government.”