Dennis is a Professional Engineer currently employed with Pollutech Environmental Limited as an Environmental Process Engineer specializing in water and wastewater process engineering and regulatory compliance. He was born in Cobourg, Ontario, grew up on a dairy farm about 30 km northeast of there and attended Campbellford District Secondary School. After high school, Dennis apprenticed as a construction steam fitter and worked in heavy construction for 16 years. In 1992 he was accepted to the Environmental Engineering undergraduate program at the University of Guelph from which he graduated with Honours in 1996. Dennis has five children and one grandchild.