Dr. Karly Kehoe, Faculty of Arts
Saint Mary’s University is proud to announce that Dr. Karly Kehoe, a distinguished scholar in the Department of History, has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). This prestigious honour recognizes Dr. Kehoe’s groundbreaking historical research on the displacement and migration of religious minorities from the Scottish Highlands and Ireland, and their settlement in Atlantic Canada.
“By examining these communities’ roles in the process of colonization, she illuminates the broader consequences of socioeconomic and religious exclusion,” said the RSC’s September 4 announcement. “Her influential scholarship and exceptional public outreach informs global migration and integration strategies, including world-leading initiatives to support displaced academic researchers.”
From Margaree Forks, Cape Breton, Dr. Kehoe holds the esteemed Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Communities at Saint Mary’s. She is the board chairperson and academic lead of the Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canada Studies.
She served as president of the RSC’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists (2020-2022), and received the King Charles III Coronation Medal this past April after being nominated by the RSC. She is the founder and lead of the RSC’s At-Risk and Displaced Academics and Artists (ARDAA) program, among other programs to support researchers whose work has been disrupted by war, conflict and threats of violence.
“We are very proud of Dr. Kehoe’s achievements and her election to the Royal Society of Canada,” said Dr. Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President, Research and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. “Through her pioneering research and advocacy leadership, she is making a profound impact on policymakers and the global academic community, while highlighting the high calibre of scholarly work here at Saint Mary’s.”
Kehoe is currently on a two-month research fellowship at the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, working on her project “Activating Colonial Privilege: The Imperial Strategies of Highland Catholics, 1750-1820”.
Kehoe is a fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the International Science Council (ISC). She is the convenor of the Scottish Historical Review Trust and co-edits the Histories of the Scottish Atlantic book series with Edinburgh University Press. Recent publications include Empire and Emancipation: Scottish and Irish Catholics at the Atlantic Fringe (University of Toronto Press, 2022), and The Scottish Highlands and the Atlantic World: Social Networks and Identities (Edinburgh University Press, 2023; co-edited with Annie Tindley and Chris Dalglish).
The Royal Society of Canada Fellowship is among the highest honours a Canadian scholar can receive, celebrating outstanding achievement in the arts, humanities and sciences. 102 new Fellows have been elected by their peers for their outstanding scholarly achievements.
On Friday, November 14, the RSC will induct the 2025 Fellows and Members of the RSC College at a ceremony in Montréal as part of its annual Celebration of Excellence and Engagement.
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