I Tried Cheeseburgers From Canada's Major Fast-Food Chains & One Truly Blew Me Away - Narcity Canada

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.

The cheeseburger. One of the most basic units of fast food in North America and something enjoyed by Canadians every single day.

But, with all of the options out there, it can be hard to know for sure which fast-food burger reigns supreme over the others.

To get to the bottom of this, I tried cheeseburgers from four of the biggest fast-food chains in Canada.

The joints I checked out for the purpose of this review are McDonald's, A&W, Harvey's and Wendy's.

Of course, there are plenty of other famous burger spots in Canada, from Burger King to Dairy Queen but — sorry — I wasn't prepared to eat more than four cheeseburgers in one go.

As for my methodology for selecting, I tried to get the closest thing to a basic burger: one beef patty, cheese, some toppings and condiments. In each restaurant, that looked different, so I will be grading on a curve to ensure fairness.

So, without further ado, here are best fast-food cheeseburgers in Canada.

McDonald's

A McDonald's cheeseburger.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

Price: $2.93

There's a case to be made that McDonald's is the reason why we even have fast-food burgers.

For my taste test, I got the classic cheeseburger which comes with a patty, pickles, onions, condiments and a slice of cheese.

What this burger does well is marry all the elements into one singular flavour you can only get at McDonald's. They simply have some sort of magic, because you can never get a homemade burger to taste like this.

It's nostalgic, wonderfully chewy but also a bit basic and a bit small. While it's under $3, the patty is on the tinier side, and it almost seems like there's way more bun than anything else.

It's good and it's a classic. But it's maybe not the best option out there.

Score: 2.5/5

A&W

An A&W burger.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

Price: $6.77

I've extolled the virtues of A&W on many occasions and some of their burgers are among my favourites. On this outing, I opted to get the Mama Burger because it seemed like the most down-the-middle classic burger you could get from the restaurant.

One thing that really stood out to me here was how tasty the beef patty was. It was seasoned with that wonderful A&W seasoning that seems to be on everything they make — in a good way.

The limited toppings and sauce were quite good, but I did find that the bun was a little bit too big. It sort of felt like I was mostly biting into bread, which sucks since that's not the case with some of their other sandwiches.

All in all, this was a good burger and definitely something I would get again — but it was not the standout this time around.

Score: 3/5

Harvey's

A Harvey's burger.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

Price: $7.19

If you've never been to Harvey's, you're missing out on a Canadian institution.

Harvey's is a Canadian-run company that serves up flame-broiled burgers and allows customers to fully customize their sandwiches.

I ordered a classic burger with cheese and it came with lettuce, ketchup and pickles. I've only had Harvey's a few times, so I was really surprised when I took a bite and the patty had a really tasty smokey flavour.

I found the bun was good and fit the number of toppings quite well, but I could see things getting really soggy if you really loaded it up.

It's not often that a patty makes you feel like you're eating one made on an actual grill, which honestly almost propelled this burger to the top of my list.

Sure, it looks a mess, but it's hard to beat the customizability of this burger and the beef truly tasted like a family member just grilled it up.

Score: 4.5/5

Wendy's

A Wendy's burger.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

Price: $8.58

This was my first time having a Wendy's burger, and let me just say that I loved it. The burger I got is called Dave's Single, a new option, and I genuinely think this is the best one I had on my taste-testing journey.

The bun was perfectly chewy, and the toppings played with each other really well. I know Wendy's whole deal is "fresh, never frozen" and that might be true — because I found the patty to be juicy, tasty and just the right size.

Eating this made me feel like I had missed out on years of great burgers because there was no Wendy's in my hometown.

So, while Harvey's is a close second, I think I'll have to give the top spot to Wendy's this time around.

Score: 5/5

I'd be remiss to mention that a huge factor in fast food is the cost, with the price of a Wendy's or Harvey's burger being roughly three times the amount of a burger at McDonald's.

That being said, I really do think it's worth the extra cash for some of these burgs, as the quality of ingredients, the beef and everything about them makes it worth your while.

But, granted, maybe three pretty-good cheeseburgers give you more joy than one really good cheeseburger!

If you're wondering about some of the other best fast food items out there, I've also ranked the best breakfast sandwiches, french fries and poutine from big chains in Canada.

Or if you don't trust my opinion, you can hear it from some of Canada's top chefs who recently named the best fast-food items in the country.

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Sharpton threatens to protest McDonald's over racial discrimination, putting fast food chain 'on notice' - Fox Business

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The National Action Network, a non-profit civil rights activism group headed by Rev. Al Sharpton, has warned it will "mobilize" against McDonald's unless the fast food company addresses accusations of racial discrimination.

Sharpton said he sent a letter to McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski on Thursday urging the company to acknowledge complaints of racism in its employment, advertising and franchising practices, though National Action Network did not publish a copy of the letter.

SHARPTON'S NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK SALARY NEARLY DOUBLES, SPENDING BIG ON PRIVATE JET FLIGHTS: REPORT

The Reverend Al Sharpton speaks at the National Action Network's annual conference. ((Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

"We find it appalling and inexcusable that McDonald’s Corporation has not satisfied its differences with the Black community. There are lawsuits brought by Black franchises. Another brought by a Black former executive over racial discrimination from the highest levels," said Sharpton.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
MCD	MCDONALD'S CORP.	295.74	+1.16	+0.39%

He added, "And let’s not forget the $10 billion lawsuit brought by Byron Allen over the fact that Black-owned media did not get its fair share of McDonald’s supersized advertising budgets."

REV. AL SHARPTON DEMANDS CNN EXPLANATION ON FIRING DON LEMON: 'WE CANNOT AFFORD TO SILENCE HIS VOICE'

A sign stands outside of a McDonald's restaurant in San Francisco, California. ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) / Getty Images)

NAN specifically mentioned the removal of John Rogers from the McDonald's Corporation Board of Directors as an "issue" that must be addressed.

"We are also outraged at the removal of John Rogers, a well-respected business leader for the Black community, from the Board of Directors. We unequivocally demand they immediately acknowledge and address these issues, or we will begin a national campaign around McDonalds. You cannot sell Black folks Big Macs and give us little justice."

Al Sharpton speaks onstage during The National Action Network 2023 Convention in New York City. ((Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage) / Getty Images)

Rogers retired from the board of directors in March 2023 after 20 years with the company. He retired alongside fellow board member Robert Eckert, who joined at the board at the same time as Rogers in May 2003.

"These retirements are consistent with the Board's commitment to ongoing refreshment that maintains an appropriate balance of continuity and institutional knowledge with fresh perspectives among Directors," McDonald's explained last month in a press release announcing Rogers and Eckert's retirement.

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FOX Business reached out to both the McDonald's Corporation and National Action Network for comment.

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I Tried Cheeseburgers From Canada's Major Fast-Food Chains & One Truly Blew Me Away - Narcity Canada

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.

The cheeseburger. One of the most basic units of fast food in North America and something enjoyed by Canadians every single day.

But, with all of the options out there, it can be hard to know for sure which fast-food burger reigns supreme over the others.

To get to the bottom of this, I tried cheeseburgers from four of the biggest fast-food chains in Canada.

The joints I checked out for the purpose of this review are McDonald's, A&W, Harvey's and Wendy's.

Of course, there are plenty of other famous burger spots in Canada, from Burger King to Dairy Queen but — sorry — I wasn't prepared to eat more than four cheeseburgers in one go.

As for my methodology for selecting, I tried to get the closest thing to a basic burger: one beef patty, cheese, some toppings and condiments. In each restaurant, that looked different, so I will be grading on a curve to ensure fairness.

So, without further ado, here are best fast-food cheeseburgers in Canada.

McDonald's

A McDonald's cheeseburger.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

Price: $2.93

There's a case to be made that McDonald's is the reason why we even have fast-food burgers.

For my taste test, I got the classic cheeseburger which comes with a patty, pickles, onions, condiments and a slice of cheese.

What this burger does well is marry all the elements into one singular flavour you can only get at McDonald's. They simply have some sort of magic, because you can never get a homemade burger to taste like this.

It's nostalgic, wonderfully chewy but also a bit basic and a bit small. While it's under $3, the patty is on the tinier side, and it almost seems like there's way more bun than anything else.

It's good and it's a classic. But it's maybe not the best option out there.

Score: 2.5/5

A&W

An A&W burger.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

Price: $6.77

I've extolled the virtues of A&W on many occasions and some of their burgers are among my favourites. On this outing, I opted to get the Mama Burger because it seemed like the most down-the-middle classic burger you could get from the restaurant.

One thing that really stood out to me here was how tasty the beef patty was. It was seasoned with that wonderful A&W seasoning that seems to be on everything they make — in a good way.

The limited toppings and sauce were quite good, but I did find that the bun was a little bit too big. It sort of felt like I was mostly biting into bread, which sucks since that's not the case with some of their other sandwiches.

All in all, this was a good burger and definitely something I would get again — but it was not the standout this time around.

Score: 3/5

Harvey's

A Harvey's burger.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

Price: $7.19

If you've never been to Harvey's, you're missing out on a Canadian institution.

Harvey's is a Canadian-run company that serves up flame-broiled burgers and allows customers to fully customize their sandwiches.

I ordered a classic burger with cheese and it came with lettuce, ketchup and pickles. I've only had Harvey's a few times, so I was really surprised when I took a bite and the patty had a really tasty smokey flavour.

I found the bun was good and fit the number of toppings quite well, but I could see things getting really soggy if you really loaded it up.

It's not often that a patty makes you feel like you're eating one made on an actual grill, which honestly almost propelled this burger to the top of my list.

Sure, it looks a mess, but it's hard to beat the customizability of this burger and the beef truly tasted like a family member just grilled it up.

Score: 4.5/5

Wendy's

A Wendy's burger.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

Price: $8.58

This was my first time having a Wendy's burger, and let me just say that I loved it. The burger I got is called Dave's Single, a new option, and I genuinely think this is the best one I had on my taste-testing journey.

The bun was perfectly chewy, and the toppings played with each other really well. I know Wendy's whole deal is "fresh, never frozen" and that might be true — because I found the patty to be juicy, tasty and just the right size.

Eating this made me feel like I had missed out on years of great burgers because there was no Wendy's in my hometown.

So, while Harvey's is a close second, I think I'll have to give the top spot to Wendy's this time around.

Score: 5/5

I'd be remiss to mention that a huge factor in fast food is the cost, with the price of a Wendy's or Harvey's burger being roughly three times the amount of a burger at McDonald's.

That being said, I really do think it's worth the extra cash for some of these burgs, as the quality of ingredients, the beef and everything about them makes it worth your while.

But, granted, maybe three pretty-good cheeseburgers give you more joy than one really good cheeseburger!

If you're wondering about some of the other best fast food items out there, I've also ranked the best breakfast sandwiches, french fries and poutine from big chains in Canada.

Or if you don't trust my opinion, you can hear it from some of Canada's top chefs who recently named the best fast-food items in the country.

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Scientists inspect 25 'fast radio bursts' from outer space - CTV News

Not unlike those early scenes from Independence Day, scientists have detected 25 mysterious “fast radio bursts” (FRBs) from the deep stretches of outer space.

These powerful radiation blasts are perfectly common astronomical occurrences and generally assumed to derive from dying stars, but the repeated nature of these bursts -- all coming from specific locations in deep space -- led scientists to speculate on the possibility of extraterrestrial signalling. These FRBs could offer astronomers new information about what dwells in far away galaxies beyond our reach.

The repeating bursts, containing 10 times the annual energy consumption of the entire world population, were picked up by an advanced telescope with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) between 2019 and 2021, along with countless other non-repeating FRBs that do not seem to follow an identifiable pattern.

The bursts under investigation are mysterious, University of Toronto astronomers say, because they derive from the same location in space and are repeating in similar ways.

“We can now accurately calculate the probability that two or more bursts coming from similar locations are not just a coincidence,” explains Ziggy Pleunis, a Dunlap Postdoctoral Fellow at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, in a University of Toronto news release. “These new tools were essential for this study, and will also be very useful for similar research going forward.”

The new 25 repeated FRBs brought the total of suspicious repeated bursts to 50. They are predicted to be about 400 light years away.

When scientists are able to study bursts from a single location, they are able to gather specific data that can reveal locked-away insights about regions of space—and its potential for hosting intelligent life-forms in distant galaxies. Plenuis explained that by studying the source of an FRB in detail, scientists can trace the stages of a star’s life and learn about the material that’s being expelled.

“It is exciting that CHIME/FRB saw multiple flashes from the same locations, as this allows for the detailed investigation of their nature,” Adaeze Ibik, a PhD student in the at the University of Toronto, also said in the news release. “We were able to hone in on some of these repeating sources and have already identified likely associated galaxies for two of them.”

Pleunis added that the discovery of there being some sort of pattern brings us closer to understanding what FRBs are.

While they don't yet know whether this is evidence of something comparable to ET phoning home, Pleunis says the discovery of patterns is promising, and there are even further reaching implications yet to be determined.

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Astronomers discover 25 new repeating fast radio bursts - Fox News

An international team of astronomers have discovered 25 new sources of repeating fast radio bursts – explosions in the sky from far beyond the Milky Way – doubling the total number of confirmed sources.

A study published in The Astrophysical Journal this week helped shed some light on the mysterious phenomena. 

The researchers, including authors at McGill University in Quebec, gathered data, including from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) radio telescope.

To find the new sources of FRBs, they used a new set of statistical tools developed to go over the data CHIME gathered between Sept. 30, 2019, and May 1, 2021. 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, APRIL 25, 1990, HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE PLACED IN ORBIT BY SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY

Astronomers have discovered 25 new repeating fast radio bursts. (Andre Renard/University of Toronto via AP)

"We combed through the data to find every repeating source detected so far, including the less obvious ones," Ziggy Pleunis, the first author of the paper who started working on the research as a PhD student at McGill University, said in a statement shared by the university. "These new tools were essential for this study because we can now accurately calculate the probability that two or more bursts coming from similar locations are not just a coincidence. It should be very useful for similar research going forward."

Adaeze Ibik, a PhD student in the David A. Dunlap Department for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, said that the scientists had already identified likely associated galaxies for two of the FRBs.

Students at the McGill University main campus in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1821, on Oct. 6, 2021.  (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON SAYS JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE IS WINDOW TO UNIVERSE 'NEVER BEFORE ACHIEVED'

The exact origins of FRBs are unknown, although astronomers do know that they come from outside of our galaxy and are most likely produced by the cinders left behind after stars die.

The CHIME radio telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in Kaleden, British Columbia. (Andre Renard/University of Toronto via AP)

One "unexpected" finding in the study was contrary to previous beliefs: all FRBs may be repeaters instead of just one-offs. It said that many repeating FRBs are surprisingly inactive, producing fewer than one burst per week, and that one-off FRBs have not been observed for long enough until now for a second burst to be detected.

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"FRBs are likely produced by the leftovers from explosive stellar deaths. By studying repeating FRB sources in detail, we can study the environments that these explosions occur in and understand better the end stages of a star's life," said Pleunis. "We can also learn more about the material that's being expelled before and during the star’s demise, which is then returned to the galaxies that the FRBs live in."

Julia Musto is a reporter for Fox News and Fox Business Digital. 

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From Fast X to The Little Mermaid: 10 of the best films to watch this May - bbc.com

Including Fast X, The Little Mermaid and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 – Nicholas Barber lists this month's unmissable releases.

(Credit: HBO Films)

1. Reality

On a Saturday afternoon in June 2017, two FBI agents visited the Georgia home of Reality Winner (yes, that's her actual name), a 25-year-old US intelligence officer who had leaked a secret government document about Russian meddling in the presidential election. The interrogation was recorded, and Tina Satter used the transcript verbatim as the script for an acclaimed play, Is This a Room. Now Satter has turned that play into a gripping chamber piece starring Sydney Sweeney as Winner. The title has a double meaning. It's Winner's first name, but it's also a hint that the film is as close to reality as a drama can be, even as Satter keeps reminding us of the artifice inherent in all art. "Not only is Reality inventively mounted and extraordinarily tense," says Steph Green at IndieWire, "but across 85 taut minutes, it proves… that Sydney Sweeney is the real deal."

Released on 29 May in the US

(Credit: Alamy)

2. What's Love Got to Do with It?

No relation to the Tina Turner biopic from 1993, What's Love Got to Do with It? is a Working Title romantic comedy in the Richard Curtis tradition, but with a cross-cultural twist: its screenwriter, Jemima Khan, used to be married to Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, so she knows about relationships that span cultural and religious divides. Lily James and Shazad Latif star as Zoe and Kazim, who have been platonic friends since childhood. When Kazim reveals that he is travelling to Lahore to marry a woman from Pakistan he has never met, Zoe decides to make a documentary about his arranged or "assisted" marriage. But will she realise, along the way, that she'd prefer to marry him herself? "Propelled by zingy one-liners and engaging performances, the film is an enjoyable watch," says Mohammad Zaheer at BBC Culture. "[It] manages to colour within the familiar lines of the genre, yet still bring something unique to the table."

Released on 5 May in the US and 25 May in Denmark

(Credit: A24)

3. You Hurt My Feelings

Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Don (Tobias Menzies) are a blissfully happy couple. Don is a successful therapist, and Beth is the writer of a well-received memoir. She might be struggling with her debut novel, but Don is a pillar of support and encouragement. But then comes the ultimate betrayal: Beth overhears him confessing that he isn't a fan of her writing, after all. Nicole Holofcener, the writer-director of Friends with Money and Enough Said (which also starred Louis-Dreyfus) has made a "brilliantly knowing comedy", says Alissa Wilkinson at Vox. "The film's expertly sketched characters... portray with great affection the ways we hide the truth from one another out of love – and the resulting film is warm-hearted and rueful and hilarious in all the best ways."

Released on 26 May in the US and Canada

(Credit: Kojo Studios)

4. Master Gardener

As the screenwriter of Taxi Driver, and the writer-director of American Gigolo and First Reformed, Paul Schrader specialises in heavyweight thrillers about "God's lonely man": a solitary anti-hero whose obsessively self-contained persona hides a powder keg of pain and violence. So it's no surprise that the lonely man in Master Gardener ends up doing more than pruning roses. A horticulturalist (Joel Edgerton) who tends to the grounds of a plantation mansion owned by a wealthy dowager (Sigourney Weaver), he seems to be dedicated to his work, to the exclusion of all else. But when the dowager asks him to train her grand-niece (Quintessa Swindell), his long-buried criminal past bursts up through the soil. "For all the film's provocations, both serious and mischievous, it's a remarkably elegant, subtle piece, its dynamics tightly reined in," says Jonathan Romney at Screen. "Edgerton gives an extremely fine-tuned performance, while Weaver is coolly imposing and eventually terrifying."

Released on 19 May in the US and 26 May in the UK and Ireland

(Credit: Ketchup Entertainment)

5. Hypnotic

Nothing is what it seems in Hypnotic, a mind-bending conspiracy thriller from Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids). Ben Affleck stars as a police detective who is haunted by the disappearance of his daughter. He is investigating a series of bank robberies when a mystery woman (Alice Braga) tells him about "hypnotics": people who have the power to make others believe and do anything they want by uttering a single sentence. "Taking a page from The Matrix, Limitless and Memento – and whole chapters from sci-fi trickster Philip K Dick – this slick mix of special effects and practical ingenuity puts Affleck in a fun position, and the slightly grizzled star's still got the clench-jawed charisma to pull it off," says Peter Debruge in Variety. "Keeping up is like working out in a gym where gravity keeps changing. Just when things start to get heavy, the floor drops out from under you."

Released on 11 May in Australia, 12 May in the US & 26 May in the UK

(Credit: Concordia Studio)

6. Still: A Michael J Fox Movie

In Back to the Future and his other 1980s hits, Michael J Fox embodied youthful vitality, but the actor was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease when he was aged just 29. After seven years of keeping the condition hidden, he went public with it in 1998, and has since campaigned for greater awareness and understanding of the disease. Fox tells that story in his own words in Still, a documentary that splices interview segments with home movies, clips from Fox's films, and re-enactments of key moments in his career. The director, Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), "delivers the actor's life story both inventively and with the utmost sensitivity," says Tomris Laffly at AV Club. "Still is a work of empowerment and empathy, a celebration of Fox's life as an actor and philanthropist... It's beautiful stuff."

Released on 12 May on Apple TV+

(Credit: Marvel Studios)

7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

It's been six years since Marvel's second Guardians of the Galaxy film came out. In 2018, the year after its release, some offensive jokes made by its writer-director, James Gunn, came to light, and the studio responded by firing him. A few months after that, they hired him again, but by then Gunn was busy working on The Suicide Squad for Marvel's competitors, DC, hence the long delay. Still, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Drax (Dave Bautista) and their buddies are finally back for more interstellar swashbuckling – and this time they're up against the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). It will probably be the Guardians' last adventure, though: Gunn has now signed up to oversee all of DC's films, and to direct a Superman reboot.

On general release from 5 May

(Credit: Disney Studios)

8. The Little Mermaid

Another month, another live-action-and-CGI remake of a classic (well, almost classic) Disney cartoon. But this one is more distinctive than most, because a black actress, Halle Bailey, is playing the title character, who was white in the 1989 cartoon. Besides, the film's director, Rob Marshall (Chicago, Mary Poppins Returns), argues that his version of The Little Mermaid is progressive in other ways, too. "The character goes back to Hans Christian Andersen from another century," he told Nick Romano at EW, "but at the same time, even in 1989, it felt in some ways like a very modern woman, someone who sees her life differently than anyone around her, and goes to find that dream." She and Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King, "really teach the world about prejudice and about breaking down barriers and walls between these two worlds." Also, there's a singing crab.

On general release from 24 May

(Credit: Universal Studios)

9. Fast X

Yes, it's the tenth film in the unstoppable petrolhead series (or the 11th if you include Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), a franchise which started with indie thrillers about undercover cops and illegal street racers and now encompasses global science-fiction blockbusters featuring some of Hollywood's biggest names. The new additions this time are Jason Momoa as the vengeful son of a drug lord killed in Fast Five (2011); Rita Moreno as the grandmother of Dom (Vin Diesel) and Mia (Jordana Brewster); and Brie Larson as their contact in the secret service. Still, Fast X is about action as much as it is about actors, as the film's director Louis Leterrier told Esquire Middle East. "They went into space in number nine, and I was like, 'Okay… there's no way I can top that.' But what I can do is do stuff that we've never done before practically, such as rolling a one-tonne bomb – an actual one-tonne metal ball – in the streets of Rome, and hope not to destroy the Colosseum."

On general release from 17 May

(Credit: Pyramide Productions)

10. The Eight Mountains

All of the mountains in The Eight Mountains are unspoilt, idyllic and breathtakingly beautiful. Some of them are in the Himalayas, but most are in the Italian alps, where Pietro (Luca Marinelli), a city boy from Turin, befriends Bruno (Alessandro Borghi), the only child left in a remote rural village. Adapted from Paolo Cognetti's award-winning novel, Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix van Groeningen's spectacularly scenic drama is a sensitive chronicle of their friendship through the decades. "This is the rare movie that understands how tied we are to the physical and psychological spaces of childhood," says Justin Chang at the Los Angeles Times, "how our families and the traditions they raised us with can be both nurturing and limiting. More than anything, it brings a little-seen world to life with an almost palpable physicality."

Released on 5 May in Japan, 12 May in the UK and Ireland, and 19 May in Spain and Finland

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Inflation Is Still High. What's Driving It Has Changed. - The New York Times

Two years ago, high inflation was about supply shortages and pricier goods. Then it was about war in Ukraine and energy. These days, services are key.

America is now two years into abnormally high inflation — and while the nation appears to be past the worst phase of the biggest spike in price increases in half a century, the road back to normal is a long and uncertain one.

The pop in prices over the 24 months that ended in March eroded wage gains, burdened consumers and spurred a Federal Reserve response that has the potential to cause a recession.

What generated the painful inflation, and what comes next? A look through the data reveals a situation that arose from pandemic disruptions and the government’s response, was worsened by the war in Ukraine and is now cooling as supply problems clear up and the economy slows. But it also illustrates that U.S. inflation today is drastically different from the price increases that first appeared in 2021, driven by stubborn price increases for services like airfare and child care instead of by the cost of goods.

Fresh wage and price data set for release on Friday are expected to show continued evidence of slow and steady moderation in March. Now Fed officials must judge whether the cool-down is happening fast enough to assure them that inflation will promptly return to normal — a focus when the central bank releases its next interest rate decision on Wednesday.

Inflation Is Slowly Coming Down

Year-over-year percentage change in the Consumer Price Index

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics; New York Fed’s Global Supply Chain Pressure Index

By The New York Times

The Fed aims for 2 percent inflation on average over time using the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, which will be released on Friday. That figure pulls some of its data from the Consumer Price Index report, which was released two weeks ago and offered a clear picture of the recent inflation trajectory.

Before the pandemic, inflation hovered around 2 percent as measured by the overall Consumer Price Index and by a “core” measure that strips out food and fuel prices to get a clearer sense of the underlying trend. It dropped sharply at the pandemic’s start in early 2020 as people stayed home and stopped spending money, then rebounded starting in March 2021.

Some of that initial pop was due to a “base effect.” Fresh inflation data were being measured against pandemic-depressed numbers from the year before, which made the new figures look elevated. But by the end of summer 2021, it was clear that something more fundamental was happening with prices.

Demand for goods was unusually high: Families had more money than usual after months at home and repeated stimulus checks, and they were spending it on cars, couches and deck furniture. At the same time, the pandemic had shut down many factories, limiting how much supply the world’s companies could churn out. Shipping costs surged, goods shortages mounted, and the prices of physical purchases from appliances to cars jumped.

Higher Prices for Services Are Now Driving Inflation

Breakdown of the inflation rate, by category

Note: The services category excludes energy services, and the goods category excludes food and energy goods.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics; New York Times analysis

By The New York Times

By late 2021, a second trend was also getting started. Services costs, which include nonphysical purchases like tutoring and tax preparation, had begun to climb quickly.

As with goods prices, that tied back to the strong demand. Because households were in good spending shape, landlords, child care providers and restaurants could charge more without losing customers.

Across the economy, firms seized the moment to pad their bottom lines; profit margins soared in late 2021 before moderating late last year.

Businesses were also covering their growing costs. Wages had started to climb more quickly than usual, which meant that corporate labor bills were swelling.

Pay Has Climbed Quickly, but Not as Fast as Prices

Year-over-year percentage change in the Employment Cost Index, a measure of labor costs, and the Consumer Price Index, a measure of living costs

Note: The Consumer Price Index is reported monthly. The Employment Cost Index is reported quarterly and is as of Q4 2022. Early 2023 data is a Goldman Sachs forecast.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

By The New York Times

Fed officials had expected goods shortages to fade, but the combination of faster inflation for services and accelerating wage growth captured their attention.

Even if pay gains had not been the original cause of inflation, policymakers were concerned that it would be difficult for price increases to return to a normal pace with pay rates rising briskly. Companies, they thought, would keep raising prices to pass on those labor expenses.

Worried central bankers started raising interest rates in March 2022 to hit the brakes on growth by making it more expensive to borrow to buy a car or house or expand a business. The goal was to slow the labor market and make it harder for firms to raise prices. In just over a year, they lifted rates to nearly 5 percent — the fastest adjustment since the 1980s.

Yet in early 2022, Fed policy started fighting yet another force stoking inflation. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that February caused food and fuel prices to surge. Between that and the cost increases in goods and services, overall inflation reached its highest peak since the 1980s: about 9 percent in July.

In the months since, inflation has slowed as cost increases for energy and goods have cooled. But food prices are still climbing swiftly, and — crucially — cost increases in services remain rapid.

In fact, services prices are now the very center of the inflation story.

They could soon start to fade in one key area. Housing costs have been picking up quickly for months, but rent increases have recently slowed in real-time private sector data. That is expected to feed into official inflation numbers by later this year.

That has left policymakers focused on other services, which span an array of purchases including medical care, car repairs and many vacation expenses. How quickly those prices — often called “core services ex-housing” — can retreat will determine whether and when inflation can return to normal.

Excluding Housing Costs, Prices of Core Services Are Rising

Year-over-year percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for services, stripping out housing and energy costs

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics; New York Times analysis

By The New York Times

Now, Fed officials will have to assess whether the economy is poised to slow enough to bring down the cost of those critical services.

Between the central bank’s rate moves and recent banking turmoil, some officials think that it may be. Policymakers projected in March that they would raise interest rates just once more in 2023, a move that is widely expected at their meeting next week.

But market watchers will listen intently when Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, gives his postmeeting news conference. He could offer hints at whether officials think the inflation saga is heading for a speedy conclusion — or another chapter.

Ben Casselman contributed reporting.

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Inflation Is Still High. What's Driving It Has Changed. - The New York Times
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CIB and FLO unveil four-year plan to install 2,000 fast charger ports - Electric Autonomy

The plan hinges on a $220-million loan from the CIB, the first commitment out of its $500-million Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure Initiative, which was established last year

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and Quebec-based charging network operator FLO have announced a plan to install over 2,000 public DC fast charger ports across the country by 2027 — an amount roughly equal to the total number of fast-charging ports currently installed in Canada.

The CIB is providing a loan of $220 million to fund the installation of these fast chargers. This marks the first investment under the CIB’s Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure (CHRI) initiative.

Launched in September 2022, the CHRI initiative, with a budget of $500 million, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector by stimulating the private sector’s rollout of large-scale charging infrastructure and hydrogen refuelling stations, promoting private investments, and fostering economic opportunities.

“Since the launch of our Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure initiative, we moved quickly to collaborate with the private sector and expand the availability of EV charging infrastructure,” says Ehren Cory, CEO of the CIB, in a press note.

“Our $220-million investment with FLO… will help alleviate range anxiety and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We look forward to building new partnerships that support the large-scale deployment of charging and hydrogen refuelling stations across Canada.”

The CIB’s financing structure is designed to offset the private sector’s reluctance to invest in charging infrastructure due to uncertainties around EV adoption rates and charger utilization. Repayment begins after construction, with interest payments proportional to usage levels, meaning higher usage rates lead to higher interest payments and vice versa.

Network build-out

The CIB-funded fast charger network will be built using FLO’s recently launched dual-port FLO Ultra, a 320 kW ultra-fast charger, which the company says can charge most electric vehicles to 80 per cent in 15 minutes.

The chargers will be installed at approximately 400 sites across Canada over the next four years.

FLO will collaborate with site hosts to set up chargers along transportation corridors and in urban and suburban areas with populations over 20,000. FLO will be responsible for managing the chargers’ planning, installation and operation at these locations.

Site hosts who are interested in hosting a FLO charging site can obtain additional information on the FLO site.

The new CIB-funded FLO ports will count towards the federal government’s pledge to install 50,000 new EV chargers and hydrogen refuelling stations across Canada by 2026.

“With about 2,000 universal public fast-charging ports currently in Canada, this extraordinary partnership comes close to almost doubling the number of public DCFCs across the country,” says Louis Tremblay, president and CEO of FLO.

“We are pleased to have a lending partner like the CIB and look forward to working together to accelerate the expansion of fast and reliable EV charging, which is critical to Canadian EV adoption.”

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CIB and FLO unveil four-year plan to install 2,000 fast charger ports - Electric Autonomy
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John Mulaney escapes the prison of likability in new Netflix special - Fast Company

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John Mulaney escapes the prison of likability in new Netflix special  Fast Company
John Mulaney escapes the prison of likability in new Netflix special - Fast Company
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‘Fast and Furious’: Christina Hodson, Oren Uziel to Co-Write Next Installment - Variety

Christina Hodson (“The Flash,” “Bumblebee”) and Oren Uziel (“The Lost City,” “22 Jump Street”) will co-write the next “Fast and Furious” movie with “Fast X” helmer Louis Leterrier returning to direct.

Last week, Variety exclusively revealed that Leterrier (the “Transporter” franchise, “Now You See Me”) would direct the next installment of “Fast and Furious,” which serves as a companion film to “Fast X,” opening May 19. The 11th film in the Vin Diesel-starring franchise will mark Hodson and Uziel’s first official collaboration.

While news of the team up might come as a surprise to some, the two in-demand creatives are friends and share office space, which made the decision to work together practically inevitable.

Hodson is a British-born, Los Angeles-based, writer and producer, who is best known for writing Paramount’s 2018 “Transformers” prequel “Bumblebee” (which was a critical and commercial hit, grossing nearly $468 million worldwide) and writing and co-producing 2020’s “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey” for Warner Bros. and DC Comics. Her next project is the highly anticipated “The Flash” movie, also for Warner Bros. and DC Comics. Hodson is represented by CAA and Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment.

Likewise, Uziel experienced great success writing the screenplay for 2022’s “The Lost City,” which starred Sandra Bulloock, Channing Tatum and Daniel Radcliffe and grossed $192 million for Paramount. He currently serves as the showrunner for Amazon and Sony TV’s upcoming Spider-Man Noir TV series.

Early in his career, Uziel wrote Sony’s “22 Jump Street” and “Freaks of Nature.” His spec script “The God Particle” was bought by Paramount and Bad Robot, which then premiered on Netflix as “The Cloverfield Paradox.” More recently, he wrote and directed Netflix’s “Shimmer Lake,” starring Benjamin Walker, Wyatt Russell, Rainn Wilson, Adam Pally, John Michael Higgins, Ron Livingston, Stephanie Sigman and Rob Corddry. Uziel is represented by Curate and Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light LLP.

Beginning with 2001’s “The Fast and the Furious,” the films have earned more than $6 billion at the worldwide box office — representing Universal’s (led by filmed entertainment group chairman Donna Langley) most-profitable and longest-running franchise, with 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious” marked as the biggest global theatrical opening of all time. The blockbuster movies have also expanded into a multitude of other offerings, including an animated series and the spinoff film franchise “Hobbs & Shaw.”

Hodson is represented by CAA and Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment; Uziel is repped by Curate and Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light LLP.

Deadline was first to report news of Hodson and Uziel’s hiring.

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‘Fast and Furious’: Christina Hodson, Oren Uziel to Co-Write Next Installment - Variety
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