Thomas retired from full-time teaching in 1984, but remained with York as a professor emeritus and a research fellow in Canadian studies. She was also named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, received honorary degrees from York, Trent University and Brock University, and served on literary award juries."Basilieres's first novel takes wing". The Globe and Mail, October 14, 2004. She continued to write literary criticism and biographical work for academic journals, as well as the afterwords for the New Canadian Library editions of works by Jameson, Laurence, Traill and Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, and published the memoir Chapters in a Lucky Life in 1999.
