Born in
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, she received a
Bachelor of Arts degree in history from
Acadia University in 1967, a Master of Arts degree in 1968, and a Ph.D. in 1979 both from the
University of Toronto. After a brief stint as an
editor at Clarke, Irwin Publishing Company from 1968 to 1969, she joined the Department of History Acadia University in 1969. She was made a full professor in 1987 and was Head of Department from 1992 to 1995. In 2002, she was awarded for a seven-year term a Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Studies at University of New Brunswick. From 1991 to 2002, she was also an adjunct professor at
Dalhousie University. From 1996 to 1998, she held the Nancy's Chair of
Women's Studies at
Mount Saint Vincent University. Conrad retired from academic life in 2009, and in 2010 was named
professor emerita by the University of New Brunswick. In 1995, Conrad was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada. In 2004, she was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada. In 2002, she was awarded the
Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and in 2012 the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. ==Scholarship==