Born in southern Ontario, Gerry Veenstra received undergraduate degrees in Pure Mathematics and Sociology from the University of Waterloo and graduate degrees in Sociology from McMaster University. He is a past holder of a New Investigator career award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, an Early Career Scholar award from the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, a Senior Scholar career award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, and a Killam Research Fellowship from UBC.