Protecting Canadians from COVID-19 is job one of every government in Canada today. We need a Canada First strategy to make sure we do.We're not just fighting COVID. We're in a battle against every other country seeking to vaccinate its own citizens faster than ours. Protectionism has taken on a new and virulent strain called 'vaccine nationalism'.There is a new global pecking order emerging between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' – having your own vaccine research and manufacturing capacity or not. The past month has shown us how vulnerable we are to vaccine diversions made by offshore companies.The best insurance against this pandemic and future outbreaks of COVID or related viruses is a made-in-Canada vaccine. Insurance means security. It brings peace of mind.Manitoba put Canada first last week by investing in a made-in-Canada mRNA COVID vaccine venture with Providence Therapeutics. A vaccine that will be filled and finished in vials in Winnipeg through Emergent BioSolutions.By doing so, we are insuring against loss. Not just the loss of loved ones for families, but the loss of jobs for workers, the loss of learning opportunities for our kids, and so much more.Getting Manitobans and Canadians another vaccine option is just common sense. Getting vaccine availability made right here in Canada with guaranteed delivery to Canadians first is the way we can protect ourselves against this new vaccine nationalism.Manitoba's deal with Providence has three big benefits for Manitobans that we want all Canadians to share. I hope other provinces and the federal government join with us.One, the first 200,000 doses go to Manitobans first.  All Canadians can share this front-of-the-line spot equally as our partners in Confederation.Two, the price we will pay will be the best available price in the country. That is a price we believe to be lower than what the federal government is paying now for offshore mRNA vaccines.Three, greater vaccine supply means more vaccinations faster. That means that we can return to the important things in our lives faster, like resuming normal healthcare.  That will allow us to shorten wait times by opening up surgeries and health care procedures we've all had to put on hold due to COVID and allowing the battering effect the pandemic has on our collective mental health to end.I applaud everything the federal government has done to secure whatever vaccines they could for Canadians. We have put those to use safely and quickly.Manitoba is second in Canada in fully immunizing its population with two doses of the vaccines, as a percentage of our population. Every consenting personal care home resident has received either their first vaccination dose and, by the end of this month, they all will have had an opportunity to receive their second dose – ahead of schedule. Along with our First Nations Partners serving on the First Nations Vaccine Implementation Task Force, we are ensuring that our vaccination program is safe, fast, effective and equitable.We have done everything we could with what we have received. But we can do more. We have built the capacity to immunize every Manitoban once within 45 days and twice within 90 days – if we had the vaccines to do so.There is one and only one limiting factor to beating COVID and getting our lives and livelihoods back. Vaccinating fully and vaccinating quickly. Not just this year but next year too. Because COVID is here to stay.That makes building a domestic Canadian vaccine research and manufacturing capacity a national imperative. We need to do so now.The health danger in not doing so is obvious. But there is a social and economic danger too. Mental health problems and Job and income losses for workers and families are rising.Manitoba lies at the very crossroads of our country. We grew and prospered because of free trade with and between east and west, north and south. We know the value of open borders and unrestricted trade.But the world is changing before our very eyes. Relying on others in a changed COVID world to take care of our own health is the wrong prescription for saving lives and reopening our economy.We need to get Canada back and keep it there.The sooner we have a made-in-Canada COVID vaccine, the sooner we get our lives and livelihoods back.