Karen Dubinsky: key obituary facts
Is Karen Dubinsky dead? Yes. Karen Dubinsky died on September 4, 2026, at age 68.
Cause of death: Karen Dubinsky's cause of death was reported as Lung cancer.
What was Karen Dubinsky known for?
She was a Canadian historian.
More about Karen Dubinsky
Born: 15 October 1957.
Gender: female.
Occupation: historian, writer.
Nationality: Canada.
Education: Queen's University, Carleton University.
Employer: Queen's University.
Awards: Albert B. Corey Prize.
Karen Dubinsky, a Canadian historian and professor at Queen’s University, died of lung cancer on September 4, 2026, aged 68.
Born Karen Elaine Dubinsky in London, Ontario, she grew up in Thunder Bay. While studying at Queen’s University and Carleton University, she became involved in student politics and feminism.
She later taught at Queen’s, where her research ranged across Canadian history, gender and sexuality, international adoption, and relations between Canada and Cuba. She authored five books and co-edited five others; her final work, Strangely, Friends: A History of Cuban–Canadian Encounters, received the 2026 Wilson Book Prize. She also received the Albert B. Corey Prize. Dubinsky was the daughter of lawyer Wallace V. Dubinsky and teacher Marguerite Wilson, and had a sister, Kelly, and brothers David and Dennis. Her paternal grandparents, Ukrainian immigrants Ksenia and Sam Dubinsky, operated the International Café in Fort William. In 1978, while working at the Northern Women’s Centre in Thunder Bay, she conducted oral-history interviews with older women, including her grandmother. The recordings and transcripts documented women’s lives and the café’s history. Dubinsky died in Kingston, Ontario.