Alice Wilson's early fascination with palaeontology had roots in her childhood, when she had begun collecting fossils from the Cobourg Limestones near her home.

[1] Growing up, Alice Wilson was surrounded by academics, such as her older brother, Alfred, who was a Ph.D. graduate from Harvard University and a respected geologist.

However, even in retirement, Dr. Wilson continued to contribute her expertise to the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), volunteering her services without compensation.

The prevailing policy at the time prevented women, including Wilson, from participating in the field alongside male colleagues, a restriction that persisted until 1970.

To overcome this challenge, Wilson proposed an alternative approach to conducting fieldwork, successfully persuading the GSC to grant her permission for solo research expeditions in the relatively unexplored Ottawa-St. Lawrence Valley.

[7] Her final year of university took an unexpected turn when a severe bout of anemia affected her health to the point where she could not complete her coursework.

Despite the institution being in place to support women, Wilson faced another challenge with the Survey when they refused her allowance to apply for the annual scholarship.

Her past education of studying languages would later prove useful when she was requested to translate a portion of Karl Alfred von Zittel's Text-Book of Paleontology from German to English by Percy Raymond, who also advocated for Wilson to take a leave of absence from the GSC in order to finish her degree, which she received in 1910.

During this time, Wilson funded her projects with her own money, studying comparative anatomy and marine biology in Long Island, New York.

In addition to a comprehensive discussion of its geology, Wilson covered the area's economic resources, including building stone, sand, gravel and drinking water.

Wilson's research into the stratigraphy and invertebrate palaeontology of the Palaeozoic strata of eastern Canada was significant, though her contributions to the field did not gain recognition until after her retirement.

[1] During the Great Depression, however, Wilson had to switch her focus from Ordovician to Devonian rocks, to meet the growing demand of petroleum in Western Canada.

She wrote a children's book, The Earth Beneath our Feet, aimed at encouraging broader knowledge and interest in the science she was so passionate about.

[citation needed] Wilson became a respected member of the GSC and mentored many young geologists through her lectures, field trips, publications, and museum exhibits.

She is remembered for her work to the understanding of the stratigraphy and invertebrate palaeontology of the Palaeozoic strata of eastern Canada, though that contribution wasn't recognized until after her retirement.

[19][14] In 1935, when the government of R. B. Bennett was looking to honour a woman in the federal civil service, Wilson was chosen to become a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

[20] On 18 October 2018, the Government of Canada dedicated a plaque to Wilson, recognizing her as a "person of national historic significance at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

"[19][21] In 2019, the tunnel boring machine used for the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) in Montreal was named "Alice" in honour of Wilson.