Carlito M. Benito (born February 21, 1954) is a former Filipino Canadian politician from Alberta. Benito served as the member of Legislative Assembly of Alberta (MLA) for the electoral district of Edmonton-Mill Woods from 2008 to 2012 as a member of the Progressive Conservative.

Early life and career

Benito was born February 21, 1954, in Manila, Philippines. He immigrated to Canada in 1982. He worked as a real estate and insurance agent.

Political career

In the 2001 Alberta election, Benito ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the riding of Edmonton-Mill Woods but lost to Weslyn Mather. He ran again in 2008, this time defeating Mather. He described himself as Alberta's first Filipino MLA. In 2012, Benito lost the Progressive Conservative nomination for his riding, placing third behind Sohail Quadri and Ron Randhawa. He ran in the 2012 election as an independent. He lost the election, placing fifth.

Controversies

During his 2008 election campaign, Benito pledged would donate his salary as an MLA (approximately $75,000) to a scholarship fund. He later claimed that he did not mean he would give away his entire salary, just a part of it. Benito blamed his wife for a failure to pay property taxes on their rental properties. Benito later paid the taxes after the matter was covered in a front-page Edmonton Journal article. In October 2022, Benito, together with his son, Charles Benito, pleaded guilty to immigration fraud. Benito was fined $75,000 for the offence.

Election results

2001 general election