His father was a native of Glasgow, Scotland and his mother was born in Fort Simpson, NWT to parents from Srifa, Lebanon.

in 1995 and a Ph.D. in 2000 for a dissertation entitled Philosophy's Mythos: Aesthetics, the Imagination, and the Philosophical Novel on Medieval Jewish and Islamic Thought.

"[3] However, writing in the Review of Middle East Studies, Peter Matthews Wright criticized the author's uneven tone and reversion to language that undermines Hughes' stated aims.

The latter work chose 10 significant days in Canadian history over the past 50 years and the events and their impact.

[11] Hughes has subsequently written on the papal apology in Maskwacis, Alberta,[12] and as of 2023 was writing a biography of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.