From 2013 until the end of 2015, Benjamin was a political organizer in British Columbia for the Liberal Party of Canada. During that time, of course, the federal Liberals somehow won the 2015 federal election and Justin Trudeau became prime minister. So in 2016, Benjamin schlepped off to Ottawa to become a regional advisor in the Office of the Minister of National Defence. He lasted two years as a staffer in the Ottawa bubble before running back home to Vancouver. Benjamin grew up in Surrey, B.C., and graduated with a bachelors in political science from Simon Fraser University, and then got his masters in political science from l’Université de Montréal for some reason.