Denis-Benjamin Papineau (French pronunciation: [dəni bɛ̃ʒamɛ̃ papino]; November 13, 1789 – January 20, 1854) was joint premier of the Province of Canada for Canada East from 1846 to 1847. The joint premiers for Canada West during this period were William Henry Draper (1846 to 1847) and then Henry Sherwood (1847).

Papineau was part of the interconnected Papineau, Viger, and Cherrier families, who were politically active during the early to mid-19th century in Lower Canada (now Quebec). His father, Joseph Papineau, and his uncle, André Papineau, had both been members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. His older brother, Louis-Joseph Papineau, was a leader of the Patriote movement leading up to the Lower Canada Rebellion. A cousin, André-Benjamin Papineau, had also been a Patriote member of the Assembly. Another cousin, Denis-Benjamin Viger, was also involved in the Patriote movement, and later served as joint premier of the Province of Canada.

Unlike his brother and cousins, Papineau was not politically active during the lead-up to the Rebellion. It was not until 1842 that he entered politics, when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in a by-election, as the member for Ottawa County, Canada East. Two years later, in 1844, Viger invited Papineau to join his new government. Papineau became the Commissioner of Crown Lands with a seat in the Executive Council. When Viger withdrew from politics in 1846, Papineau succeeded him as joint premier from Canada East. Papineau in turn retired from politics late in 1847.

Prior to his political career, Papineau was involved in various commercial activities. He was the manager of the family seigneury of Petite-Nation, first for his father, then for his brother Louis-Joseph. He also had a share in a bookstore in Montreal, and some commercial activities in the Petit-Nation area. He was the postmaster for Petit-Nation, and had several term appointments as a justice of the peace in the Montreal district.

After withdrawing from politics, Papineau retired to Petite-Nation, where he died in 1854.

Denis-Benjamin Papineau was born in 1789 in Montreal, in the old Province of Quebec, the son of Joseph Papineau and Rosalie Cherrier. His father was a successful surveyor and notary, and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. He had risen into the seigneurial class by buying the seigneury of Petite-Nation (now located in the Papineau Regional County Municipality in western Quebec, on the Ottawa River). Denis-Benjamin's older brother, Louis-Joseph Papineau, was also elected to the Legislative Assembly and became the major leader of the Parti canadien (later known as the Parti patriote), leading up to the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837.

Like his older brother, Denis-Benjamin studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec, from 1801 to 1807. In 1813, he married Angélique-Louise Cornud. They would have nine children, including Denis-Emery Papineau, who became a politician and leading notary.

Unlike his father and his brother, Papineau did not train as a lawyer. Instead, starting in 1808, he oversaw the operation of the seigneury of Petite-Nation, first for his father Joseph, and later for his brother, Louis-Joseph, who bought the seigneury from their father in 1817. His tasks included encouraging settlement into the area and developing the lumber trade and sawmills, in the rich timber area of the Ottawa River valley. His correspondence with his father during this period indicate that his father criticised him for his business decisions. He continued to manage the seigneury for his brother, including the period when Louis-Joseph was in exile after the Rebellion. Louis-Joseph sent letters to Denis-Benjamin, criticising him for not collecting enough rents from the tenants.