Born in Lachine, Quebec, John Bland studied architecture at McGill University where he received a B.Arch. in 1933 and planning in London at the Architectural Association School, earning a Diploma in Planning in 1937. Upon graduation, Bland worked in London for the Planning Department of the London County Council and in 1938 he travelled throughout Europe. In partnership with Harold Spence-Sales, Bland designed a number of commercial and public buildings in England as well as prepared planning reports. Bland returned to Canada in the late 1930s and began his long association with the School of Architecture at McGill University: he served as the Director of the School of Architecture from 1941 until 1972 and became Emeritus Professor of Architecture in 1979. During this time he was also actively involved in the design of numerous architectural and planning projects in partnership with Vincent Rother, Charles Elliott Trudeau, Roy E. LeMoyne, Gordon Edwards, Michel Lacroix and Anthony Shine. The holdings of the CAC reflect Bland's dual career as educator and architect. John Bland was responsible for assembling the materials which now form the archives of the CAC.

For further information, see the Blackader-Lauterman Library publication, John Bland at Eighty: a Tribute. Montreal: Blackader-Lauterman Library of Architecture and Art, and School of Architecture, McGill University, 1991.