Turner was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where his father was stationed with the Canadian military. As a military brat, he lived in the Canadian North, the American Midwest, and Baden-Baden, Germany. He graduated from Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario in 1996 with an honours Bachelor of Arts in History. He also holds a journalism degree from Ryerson University, Toronto (1998). While at Ryerson, he completed an editorial internship at Shift Magazine.

Following graduation from Ryerson, Turner reported on culture and technology for Shift Magazine from 1998 to 2003. His writing has also appeared in, The Walrus, The Globe & Mail, Fast Company, The Independent, The Sunday Times, Time Magazine, The National Post, Utne Reader, Good Weekend and Adbusters.

He lives in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife, the photographer Ashley Bristowe, and their children, Sloane and Alexander.

Turner has received four Canadian National Magazine Awards for his work in Shift, and six honourable mentions for articles that appeared in Shift, The National Post, Business and Up! His essay "Why Technology Is Failing Us (And How We Can Fix It)," won the 2001 President's Medal for General Excellence, the highest honour in Canadian magazine writing.