Born in Toronto in the 1930s, Salmon was the daughter of Herbert Bell, a Jamaican immigrant, and Violet Bryan, a fifth generation Canadian of Scottish descent. Salmon began her Registered Nursing training at Wellesley Hospital in 1950 and finished a certificate in Public Health Nursing at the University of Toronto in 1954. She was a Victorian Order Nurse (VON) in Toronto from 1954-1956. Salmon married Dr.(John) Douglas Salmon in 1956 and the couple had four children.
