GUELPH, ON, May 15, 2026 /CNW/ – Canadian agri-businesses are leading the way in creating new solutions to reduce emissions and make the agri-food sector more resilient. The Government of Canada is supporting this effort by working with Canadian non-for-profit agri-food organizations to help science-focused small- and medium-sized businesses develop innovative technologies that grow the economy, while protecting the environment.

Today, during her visit to Bioenterprise Canada Corporation in Guelph, Dominique O’Rourke, Member of Parliament for Guelph, announced support of up to $3,250,000 in funding for Canadian Food Innovation Network Inc. (CFIN) under the Agricultural Clean Technology Program Research and Innovation Stream – Accelerator (ACT Accelerator). Canadian Food Innovation Network Inc. is one of six not-for-profit organizations that will fund projects that advance the development of clean technology for adoption in the food and beverage sector across Canada. Danielle Martin, Member of Parliament for University–Rosedale, announced the full ACT Accelerator investment of up to $30 million, on behalf of the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, on May 8.

With support from ACT Accelerator, CFIN will further distribute funding to Canadian companies that are creating new and cleaner technologies for the food industry through its True North Sustainable Food Fund. This project includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions by making food production cleaner and more efficient. It also supports ideas that reuse food waste, turning it into useful products like food ingredients or energy instead of sending it to landfills. Additionally, CFIN will provide these companies with mentoring, coaching, and support to help them grow and succeed.

This ACT Accelerator investment will help ensure that Canadian producers and agri-food businesses have access to a wider range of advanced technologies, contributing to a more competitive and climate-friendly sector.

Quotes

“By forging meaningful partnerships and investing in CFIN’s True North Sustainable Food Fund project, we continue to empower innovators across the country to develop and scale the clean technologies that will keep our farms competitive and our environment healthy for generations to come.”

–    The Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

“Through projects like the True North Sustainable Food Fund, we are proud to support organizations that bring clean technology solutions to farmers, food producers, and foodtech innovators. By helping innovative Canadian companies like CFIN to start and scale their ideas, we are building a more sustainable, competitive, and resilient economy for the future.”

–    Dominique O’Rourke, Member of Parliament for Guelph

“To remain competitive on the global stage, Canadian agri-food businesses must lead in efficiency and innovation. By launching the True North Sustainable Food Fund, we are ensuring that small- and medium-sized enterprises have the capital and mentorship required to turn brilliant cleantech concepts into commercial reality. This isn’t just an investment in the environment; it’s an investment in the long-term economic resilience of Canada’s food supply chain.”

–    Dana McCauley, CEO, Canadian Food Innovation Network Inc.

Quick Facts

The Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) Program provides farmers and agri-businesses funding to help develop and adopt the latest clean technologies to reduce GHG emissions and boost their long-term competitiveness.The ACT Program supports the Government of Canada’s commitment to reduce its greenhouse emissions by 45–50% below 2005 levels by 2035.The ACT Accelerator provides funding to eligible not-for-profit organizations (Initial Recipients) that will further distribute these funds to other organizations (Ultimate Recipients) in support of their research and innovation objectives.Projects and final funding are subject to negotiation of a contribution agreement.Founded in 2021, and based in Guelph, Canadian Food Innovation Network Inc. aims to champion and build a collaborative, engaged food innovation culture that generates transformative opportunities in the food and beverage industry in Canada.

Additional Links

Agricultural Clean Technology Program Research and Innovation Stream – AcceleratorCanadian Food Innovation Network Inc.

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Web: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

An innovative new initiative from licensee Dirty Secret, LLC is bringing the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary into the digital age.

LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Dirty Secret Gaming Studio, a licensee of America250, launches an innovative new initiative called Digital 250 bringing the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary into the digital age through a series of interactive experiences built within Fortnite, one of the world’s largest gaming and social platforms.

Digital 250 x America250 x Fortnite

Designed to reach a new generation of audiences, Digital 250 reimagines how national milestones can be experienced by focusing on participation, creativity, and play. The initiative aims to expand the accessibility of America 250 celebrations, particularly among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who engage with culture and community through interactive digital environments.

At the center of the experience is a US-inspired hub world that connects players to a collection of themed game activations. Each experience draws inspiration from iconic moments, locations, innovations, and stories throughout American history and culture. Rather than presenting history as passive content, Digital 250 transforms it into gameplay across a range of formats including parkour challenges, survival modes, racing experiences, mini-games, and social environments.

“Digital 250 is about meeting people where they already are and inviting them to take part in a shared celebration,” said Wes Butchko, Co-Founder of Dirty Secret. “By building within Fortnite, we are creating a space where players can explore, compete, and connect while engaging with the stories and spirit of America in a way that feels relevant today. We are actively working with brands looking to participate in and help shape this unique cultural moment.”

Fortnite’s global reach and built-in social systems provide a unique platform for large-scale engagement, allowing Digital 250 to combine entertainment, storytelling, and brand participation in a single, interactive ecosystem. The initiative is designed to grow over time, with new activations and experiences rolling out as part of the broader celebration.

Brand Activation Integration

Digital 250 is currently engaging with select brands, organizations, and strategic partners interested in participating through custom activations, sponsored experiences, and collaborative storytelling opportunities across the platform. The team is actively fielding partnership discussions and exploring launch collaborations ahead of the America 250 celebration, with the current partner consideration window remaining open through June 15th.

Digital 250 represents a shift in how cultural moments can be experienced, moving beyond traditional formats to create a living, evolving digital gathering place. By prioritizing gameplay and shared experiences, the project seeks to make America’s 250th anniversary not just something to observe, but something to actively participate in.

Learn more about Digital 250 at www.digital250.org.

Media Contact

Wes Butchko, Dirty Secret Gaming Studio, 1 (213) 407-0884, wes@dirtysecret.xyz, www.digital250.org

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SOURCE Dirty Secret Gaming Studio

New Zillow poll finds sellers want pre-marketing to the broadest possible audience — at direct odds with a push by some brokers toward limited, private networks

85% of soon-to-be sellers are more likely to hire an agent who can pre-market their home to the broadest online audience89% of Americans say real-time buyer demand signals would be valuable before selling their home61% of soon-to-be sellers believe broad online marketing produces better outcomes than a limited private network

SEATTLE, May 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Some brokerages in the real estate industry are pitching sellers on private listings. Most sellers aren’t buying it.

A new Zillow survey conducted by The Harris Poll — released as some brokerages and MLSs move to build out private listing networks — finds that the consumers those networks are supposedly designed to serve want something else entirely.

The pitch from private listing proponents is that keeping a home off the open market is simply “seller choice” — but when sellers are actually given that choice, they choose the opposite. Nearly two-thirds of soon-to-be sellers polled (61%) believe broad online exposure produces better outcomes than a limited private network.

This debate has been playing out in agent pitches and listing agreements across the country for years as a few of the largest names in real estate have doubled down on marketing saying that keeping a home out of the public eye is a competitive advantage for sellers. The survey data adds a crucial dimension to that story: sellers, when given a chance to make an informed choice, disagree with this strategy.

Not All Pre-Marketing Is the Same

The real debate isn’t whether to pre-market a home — it’s who gets to see it when you do. Private listing networks market homes exclusively to buyers working with the same brokerage as the seller, limiting competition to a fraction of the available buyer pool and potentially leaving money on the table for sellers. Despite the consumer harm, brokerages are motivated to push this model because it lets them collect commissions from both the seller and buyer or use the listings to recruit agents from other brokerages.

By contrast, public pre-marketing introduces a home to the broadest possible audience before it goes live, giving sellers real-time demand signals they can actually use.

When it came to pre-marketing, soon-to-be sellers expressed a clear preference:

85% say they’d be more likely to hire an agent who can pre-market their home to the broadest online audience56% would want it to be visible online for all possible shoppers to see60% say real-time pre-market buyer data — views, saves and tour requests — would be extremely / very valuable when selling their home

“When a seller hires an agent, they’re placing enormous trust in that person to get them the best outcome,” said Errol Samuelson, chief industry development officer at Zillow. “Pre-marketing to a closed network is not the same thing as pre-marketing so the broadest audience in the country can see it for free — and sellers know the difference. They’re not asking for limited access. They’re asking for reach. Zillow believes every seller deserves that visibility, and every agent deserves the tools to deliver it.”

Broad Benefits on Both Sides of the Transaction

The survey also found near-universal agreement among Americans about the benefits of pre-market exposure. A vast majority of Americans polled agree that early online exposure of a home to the broadest audience before it is officially listed for sale would help:

Reach more buyers (84%)Sell a home faster (82%)Increase buyer competition (80%)Boost confidence in pricing strategy (78%)Strengthen their marketing strategy going in (76%)

Demand for early access isn’t limited to sellers. Nearly 9 in 10 Americans (88%) expressed interest in viewing pre-marketed homes online if they were buying a home. Among buyers, the top perceived benefits of early listing visibility are more time to research the neighborhood (52%) and more time to get pre-qualified for financing (41%).

Sellers Spoke. Zillow Listened.

Sellers have made their choice clear about how they want to pre-market their home. That’s why Zillow built Zillow Preview — and why its reach is about to grow significantly. Zillow and Realtor.com recently announced a collaboration to display Preview listings across both platforms simultaneously, meaning sellers can now reach the largest combined audience of home shoppers available anywhere online before their listing officially goes live.

Where private networks limit who sees a home and when, and are designed as much to bring new clients to the brokerage as to sell homes, Zillow Preview is different. It’s designed to give sellers and agents maximum early visibility, the real-time data to act on it, and the ability to work with the brokerage of their choice. It’s a fundamentally different proposition. Pre-marketing done right isn’t closed to a select few; it’s open to the broadest possible audience.

Survey methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Zillow from April 21-23, 2026, among 2,058 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 211 have sold a home in the past two years (recent sellers) and 198 are currently listing/planning to list their home for sale in the next two years (soon-to-be sellers). The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact press@zillow.com. 

About Zillow Group:

Zillow Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people.

As the most visited real estate app and website in the United States, Zillow connects hundreds of millions of consumers with innovative technology, trusted agents and loan officers, and seamless digital solutions. With industry-leading tools and resources, Zillow supercharges real estate professionals so they can grow their businesses and deliver exceptional client experiences. For renters and housing providers, Zillow offers not only a robust marketplace but a set of end-to-end products and services to streamline applications, leases, payments and more.

Zillow’s ecosystem spans the entire home journey — from dreaming and shopping to renting, buying, selling and financing.

Zillow Group’s affiliates, subsidiaries and brands include Zillow®, Zillow Premier Agent®, Zillow Home Loans®, Zillow Rentals®, Zillow® New Construction, Trulia®, StreetEasy®, Out East®, HotPads®, Follow Up Boss®, ShowingTime®, dotloop® and Zillow® Closing.

All marks herein are owned by MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). © 2026 MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate.

(ZFIN)

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SOURCE Zillow