Benito, Manitoba

Benito is an unincorporated rural community in the Municipality of Swan Valley West within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held village status prior to January 1, 2015. The community is situated in the Swan River Valley, 37 kilometres southwest of Swan River, 475 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, and 2 kilometres east of the Saskatchewan border. To the south is Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Forest, to the north is Thunder Hill and further north of Swan River is Porcupine Mountain Provincial Park. Benito is served by PTH 83.

Farmers' elevator in Benito, 1914

People from Eastern Canada, England, and Europe first settled Benito around the beginning of the 20th century. In 1905, the Canadian National Railway went through, and Benito slowly grew and was incorporated as a village in 1941.

The economic base of the region is agriculture and logging.

Benito is home to a branch of the North-West Regional Library of nearby Swan River. Founded in 1965, today the North-West Regional Library Benito Branch provides over 14,000 books, DVDs, puzzles and other items accessible to the public as well as many other services.[1]

On April 1, 2013, Benito was featured in an April Fool's Day joke across the Province of Manitoba. The CJ Radio Network announced that as part of a protest against forced municipal amalgamation, Benito had joined Saskatchewan.[2] Staff at the former village office went along with the prank and informed callers that they were indeed now known as Benito, Saskatchewan instead of Benito, Manitoba.