[5] Carter's research, from her doctoral dissertation that became her first book, Lost Harvests, has focused on Western Canada's colonial history, and in particular the exclusion of Indigenous peoples and women throughout colonization and settlement of the Prairies.
[1] For instance, her research into Canada's Peasant Farm Policy challenged long-standing views of farming on reserves, while her research on women and homesteading documented how early agricultural policy on the Canadian Prairies both extended Canadian colonial power and limited the political and economic power of women.
[7][8] In 2020, she was awarded a Killam Prize from the Canada Council, which recognizes substantial and distinguished contributions over a significant period to Canadian scholarly research.
[9] In June 2023, Carter was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada, recognized for her "pioneering" historical and academic work.
[10][11] Carter contributed an introduction to the 2006 edition of the 1914 book Wheat and Woman by Georgina Binnie-Clark, a figure she also wrote about in Imperial Plots.