Following redistribution, the area became part of the Nanaimo-Parksville and Alberni-Qualicum ridings.
Benton is centered around the junction of U.S. Route 411, which connects the town to Etowah to the north and Tennga, Georgia to the south, and Tennessee State Route 314, which connects Benton to Parksville and the Ocoee Dam area to the southeast.
On October 2, 2010, the school district announced that they are considering closing KSS and requiring that its students attend Ballenas Secondary School in Parksville.
In the spring of 1998, Parksville-Qualicum Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Paul Reitsma had been caught by Cam Purdy, editor of local Parksville newspaper, Parksville/Qualicum Beach Morning Sun, writing letters to the editor for years praising himself and signing them under fabricated names.
As of 2011, When Radio Was appears on over 200 stations in the U.S., as well as one Canadian station, CHPQ-FM in Parksville, British Columbia.