Good morning! And happy back-to-school season for all who celebrate. Froshies at universities across the country are likely engaged in various forms of debauchery, a welcome distraction from the soaring costs of university tuition. (Remember: liquor before beer, you’re in the clear.) It’s also the time to load up on school supplies for younger scholars – may I suggest one of those giant erasers? Trust me, the kids love ‘em.

– Anthony Milton, Content Lead

The takeaway: A rough end to August, and the start of September wasn’t much better. On Sunday, the US struck Iranian positions near the Strait of Hormuz; by Tuesday, US Treasury yields hit their highest level since 2023. It was a one-two punch that dragged Wall Street and the TSX down together (oil’s still doing great, though). But things started to turn around Wednesday: The Bank of Canada held rates steady (more below) and yields stopped rising, which helped US stocks end the three-day losing streak. Thursday brought more improvements, as Fed Governor Christopher Waller indicated he also wants to keep rates the same this month, yields actually fell, and stocks rallied – the major indices were all up for the week by the time markets closed on Thursday.

Who doesn’t love setting a new record? Canadian consumer debt reached a record $2.64 trillion in Q2 – congrats, everyone. That’s a $116 billion or 4.6% increase in total outstanding balances year over year. Most Canadians wanted to cut back on spending at the start of this year; now it seems they’re partying like it's 3012. What happened?

In its Q2 2026 Credit Industry Insights Report, TransUnion outlined five consumer categories based on credit score: superprime (lowest-risk borrowers), prime plus, prime, near prime, and subprime (highest-risk borrowers). Prime consumers saw no year-over-year change in their outstanding balances, and others in the middle of the spectrum saw only modest increases. The biggest spikes were on either end of the risk spectrum: subprime consumer debt increased by 5.9%, and superprime consumer debt increased by 6.5%.

As the report puts it: “Canadians are experiencing increasingly different financial realities.” Sing it, sister. The people increasing their borrowing most dramatically are either under significant financial pressure to afford day-to-day necessities, or they’re buying another lakeside property.

As for who gets credit (see what we did there?) for setting the record, well, superprime consumers have a total outstanding balance of $1.7 trillion, which is about 28 times the $62 billion total outstanding balance of subprime consumers, and roughly two thirds of total Canadian consumer debt. We don’t think Gen Z-ers paying for groceries with Klarna are responsible for this one, y’all.

Bottom line: As affordability pressures mount, an increasing number of us are borrowing more – but not to the extent that our record-setting $2.64 trillion consumer debt might suggest. That number is likely more than a little bit skewed by the people financing their Ferraris.

by Ian Macintyre

This is an excerpt of an article originally run in full on The Margin.

Ian MacIntyre is an award-winning comedian and writer who serves as editor at The Beaverton.

Earlier this year, SpaceX went public in the biggest IPO in the history of the stock market. Beyond the sky-high valuation, there were unprecedented rule changes by Nasdaq and Russell that allowed the rocket and satellite company a fast pass into their indices. Wanted or not, SpaceX has been injected into ETFs, American 401(k)s, and possibly even your Canadian RRSP or mine.

Pardon my language, but: This sucks.

There are plenty of axes I can grind against Musk (and I'll grind some later on). But the main reason this is a bonkers (derogatory) institutional move that basically only benefits Musk, an insecure wannabe edgelord who's gleefully burnt through two decades of public goodwill. For his next trick, maybe he'll burn through all the monetary capital in the world, too.

Back to SpaceX, whose share prices since the IPO have ranged from its June 16 high of US$225.64 and its Aug. 3 low of US$104.83. As of this writing, the price sits closer to the low end of that range. Sure, Tesla has historically seen explosive long term stock returns, but SpaceX is a different beast entirely. Plus, these index rule changes have now paved the way for similarly sus IPOs to happen, led by tech giants that are even less proven. Here in 2026, one of the few people really getting anything out of these rule changes is Elon 'We'll be living on Mars by 2025' Musk.

Read more

Anthony Milton, Content Lead: I am, at best, ambivalent about dogs. Yes, I know, they’re pure-hearted bundles of joy. But in Toronto, I can’t go two minutes without tripping over a pooch, and it’s beginning to make me wonder: how many dogs is too many dogs?

Before you get all “the limit does not exist!” with me, consider our collective track record with nice things. North America has a bit of a scaling problem. The supposed 'ideal' of a house, dog, and picket fence is still seared into our collective subconscious, even though it would be wildly unrealistic to expect 40 million Canadians to attain all of it. For many, urban living has largely supplanted this fantasy – but curiously, the dog part remains: There are now 600,000 canines in Toronto, 145,000 in Vancouver and 90,000 in Calgary.

Those big numbers have big impacts. Whole industries have popped up to offer them gourmet food, designer clothing, and ‘pawdicures.’ Even the cities themselves are changing: Toronto has converted parks into enclosed dog runs, installing urine-absorbing gravel to replace green grass. 

Yes, dogs are wonderful. But it's still important to occasionally stop and consider how much of our own wish fulfillment is sustainable in the long term. Every box of prime tuna kibble means fish getting plucked from real oceans; every chewy bone was once the limb of a living creature. These things aren't unlimited resources, and imagining the (figurative) footprints our four legged friends leave behind should be enough to give anyone paws.

We ask; you answer; we share our favourites next week. Simple!

Last week, we wanted to know what Canadian substitutes you prefer over American products. Our favourite answer was a real pickle:

“If you are a pickle lover, try the Putters brand from Quebec. Any flavour is a welcome change from the mass-produced US brands.” - Barbara P.

This week, in honour of back-to-school season, we want to know: "What's the silliest money mistake you made as a 19 year old?"

Email us your answers by next Thursday, Sept. 10 at 12 p.m. ET – we might feature it in next week's issue!

From The Margin group chat:

If you liked this newsletter, hated this newsletter, or are totally indifferent to it, hit the reply button and tell us why! We’re so lonely.

This week’s contributors: Ian MacIntyre (writer), Tyler Haw (audience engagement), Amarah Hasham-Steele (staff writer), Shazia Khan (social media strategy manager), Anthony Milton (content lead), Martin Molpeceres (social video producer), Kat Angus (deputy editor), and Eric Wainwright (editor in chief).

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