Life and career
Benskin was born in Bristol,England but moved to Canada in 1968 at age nine.
In politics
On 30 January 2011,Benskin was announced as the federal New Democratic Party candidate in the Montreal-area riding of Jeanne-Le Ber in the 2011 federal election. During the election,his candidacy was seen as one of the NDP's better chances for a gain in Quebec,and NDP leader Jack Layton described him as having minister potential. [2] On 2 May 2011,he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada with a substantial margin,defeating Bloc Québécois incumbent Thierry St-Cyr.
Benskin was named the Official Opposition's critic for Canadian Heritage,and later transferred to the Official Languages file as deputy critic. He was dropped from the shadow cabinet after party leader Thomas Mulcair learned that Benskin owed the Quebec revenue agency $58,000 for unpaid taxes from 2007 to 2011. Benskin apologized,attributing the non-payment to having precarious employment as an artist prior to becoming an MP. [3] Benskin did not stand as a candidate in the 2015 federal election,having lost the local party's nomination to Allison Turner. [4]
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