He crossed the floor to the CCF in 1955, becoming the first CCF member in Newfoundland. He helped form the new party and became its leader. The CCF fielded ten candidates in the 1956 election. The party won no seats, however, and he lost his own seat in the riding now known as Trinity North. It would take three decades before the CCF's successor, the New Democratic Party, was able to win a seat in the legislature. Following his defeat, Drover started his own business in Hodge's Cove.
