Originally a relatively conservative Methodist,[22] at Wesley he embraced
higher criticism. It was also in Winnipeg that he became committed to activist Christianity and the Social Gospel movement. He became a popular guest preacher across
western Canada. At Wesley he tutored a number of students including
J. S. Woodsworth,
William Irvine, and
William Ivens who became early leaders of the
social-democraticCo-operative Commonwealth Federation. Bland, a longtime advocate for the creation of a third party alternative to the Liberals and Conservatives,
helped found the
Ontario CCF.[23]
Bland also became a regular writer for The Grain Growers' Guide, then the main organ of the progressive farmers' movement,[citation needed] from 1917 to 1919.[24] This activism led him into conflict with the leaders of Wesley College and he was dismissed in 1917 after a long battle with principal Eber Crummy.
Bland moved to
Toronto in 1919[24] where he became the minister at the
Broadway Methodist Tabernacle,[25] one of the largest Methodist churches in the city and one serving the large
working-class community of western Toronto. He remained there until 1923, when he moved to the smaller
Western Methodist Church. He became a prominent figure in the new
United Church of Canada. In 1935 he convinced the general assembly to pass a motion condemning
capitalism. He also led the campaign in favour of the
ordination of women and succeeded in 1936.
He also remained deeply involved in social activism. He was a supporter of the
Republican side in the
Spanish Civil War and a leader of the Canadian Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy. Firmly anti-war, he refused to encourage Canadians to enlist in the Republican cause. Rather he focused on raising humanitarian aid for those affected by the conflict. Most notably the committee supported a home for some 100 war orphans in
Barcelona that was named Salem Bland Home. He became close friends with the exiled American activist
Emma Goldman, and when she died in Toronto in 1940 it was Bland who delivered the eulogy at her funeral. He also wrote a column for the Toronto Star called "The Observer" from 1924 to 1950. A well-known figure in Toronto, he had his portrait painted by the
Group of Seven artist
Lawren S. Harris in 1926.[26] The painting is today in the collection of the
Art Gallery of Ontario.
——— (2004). "Bland, Salem (1859–1950)". In
Wishart, David J. (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. p. 737.
ISBN978-0-8032-4787-1.
——— (2008). The View from Murney Tower: Salem Bland, the Late Victorian Controversies, and the Search for a New Christianity. Vol. 1. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
ISBN978-0-8020-9748-4.
Antonides, Harry (1985). Stones for Bread: The Social Gospel and Its Contemporary Legacy. Jordan Station, Ontario: Paideia Press.
ISBN978-0-88815-061-5.
Bercuson, David (1990). Confrontation at Winnipeg: Labour, Industrial Relations, and the General Strike (rev. ed.). Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
ISBN978-0-7735-6267-7.
Bumsted, J. M. (1999). Dictionary of Manitoba Biography. Winnipeg, Manitoba: University of Manitoba Press.
ISBN978-0-88755-318-9.
Gauvreau, Michael (1991). Evangelical Century: College and Creed in English Canada from the Great Revival to the Great Depression. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
ISBN978-0-7735-6255-4.
Whiteley, Marilyn Färdig (2013). "Bland, Salem Goldsworth". In Yrigoyen, Charles Jr.; Warrick, Susan E. (eds.). Historical Dictionary of Methodism (3rd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 63.
ISBN978-0-8108-7894-5.