Ian James Turnbull

Ian Turnbull, 74, of Midland, Ontario, passed away Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Hospice Huronia, surrounded by loved ones. Born in Toronto in 1950 to Ernest and Louise (Laird) Turnbull and followed three years later by his brother Rodd, Ian moved to Thornhill for high school, then attended the University of Western Ontario (now “Western University”) in London, where he attained a Bachelor of Arts (1973), and Master of Business Administration (1975 - The Richard Ivey School of Business).

After graduation, Ian worked in Human Resource Management for The Bay, Alberta Energy and Natural Resources, Kaiser Resources, The Edmonton General Hospital, Athabasca University, Canada Post, and Noranda before turning to consulting with Sierra Systems, Computer Science Corporation, and finally, his own firm, Laird & Greer Management Consultants, focusing on HR strategy and Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS).

In 2003, he co-founded Canadian HR Press, an HR-oriented educational institution which publishes HR study guides and custom courses and included the eCornell brand for many years. He was co-editor of the Canadian HR Press’s series, Study Guide for the HR Knowledge Exams, the leading Canadian study guide for over 20 years.

In 2004, he recognized the need for information about Canada’s new privacy law – PIPEDA – and created The Canadian Privacy Institute to consult to industry. He authored two books on privacy law in Canada, the last being Privacy In The Workplace (2nd ed.,2009, CCH Canada).

Ian received the Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) in 1991 from the Human Resource Professionals Association of Ontario. In 2002, he was the recipient of The President’s Award from the International Public Management Association of Canada (IPMA), awarded for making an outstanding contribution to the practice of human resources management in Canada.

His service to his profession included Chair, the Canadian Council of Human Resource Associations (CCHRA); Chair, the International Association of Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM); President, Human Resource Professionals of York Region (HRPYR); and Director, Human Resource Management Systems Professionals/Association des professionnels en SGRH.

Ian was also active in the community variously as Chair, Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness (Richmond Hill, ON); Chair, Society for Knowledge in Learning Living Skills (Edmonton, AB); Joint Chair, Conference for Social Justice (Edmonton, AB); and Board Member, the Community Legal Clinic of York Region (Richmond Hill, ON).

Ian wrote numerous articles and spoke at professional conferences and workshops throughout North America and Europe on general management, human resources, payroll systems, privacy and security issues.

He taught the practical aspects of HRMS at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations and authored/co-authored five books on human resource management systems, the latest titled Human Resources Guide to Managing Information Systems (2nd ed., 2019, Thomson-Reuters).

He was a voracious reader, a fierce competitor, and had a deep love of music, art and theatre. He was a supportive, loving and generous husband, dad, and grandpa—always ready to entertain with a joke or a story. He was a mentor to many—a staunch example of what honesty, integrity, and hard work look like—and will continue to be an inspiration to those who knew him.

Ian is survived by his beloved wife of almost 50 years, Susan (nee Tuckey); his children, Katherine Laird Turnbull (Michael Lortie) of Montreal and Elizabeth Greer Turnbull (Jason Cabanaw) of Lloydminster, Alberta; and his grandson, William Lortie-Turnbull, of whom he was exceedingly proud.

Cremation has taken place. A celebration of life will be held at Thompson Funeral Home, 530 Industrial Parkway, South, Aurora, ON on Saturday, August 16, 2025 from 2 - 5 p.m..

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital in memory of Ian.