baril attended the université de sherbrooke, earning a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy with a minor in theology (2000-2003) as well as a master's degree in philosophy (2003-2005) from the department of philosophy and applied ethics. he received the highest distinction for his thesis, titled: "judith butler and postmodern feminism: a theoretical and conceptual analysis of a controversial school of thought", and has since published many articles on judith butler’s political philosophy based on this work. after completing his master's degree, baril pursued a doctoral degree in philosophy (2006-2010) from the université du québec à montréal (uqam) where he completed all program requirements other than the dissertation. he then headed to the university of ottawa to begin a second doctorate in women's studies (2010-2013) at the institute of feminist and gender studies. his dissertation, titled: "bodily normativity under the knife: (re)thinking intersectionality and solidarities between feminist, trans, and disability studies through transsexuality and transability" earned him the highest distinction and the pierre laberge prize, awarded to the best dissertation in the humanities.