OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, but he warned Canadians that it won’t likely end with a resolution to the trade war Trump launched.

“Do not expect white smoke out of that meeting,” Carney said Friday in his first news conference after Monday’s election delivered him a minority government. 

Here’s what you need to know.

Two-track talks: Lifting Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods is the immediate priority, Carney said. That includes tariffs ostensibly tied to fentanyl entering the United States, “reciprocal” tariffs based on U.S. trade deficits, sectoral tariffs on goods like aluminum and autos and others perhaps yet to come. The countries’ “broader relationship” needs a rethink, however, Carney said, adding he sees that as a distinct subject for talks.

“I go there with the expectation of constructive—difficult, but constructive—discussions,” Carney said in response to a question about how he avoids an ambush like the one that awaited Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.

Patience: Trump respects strength, Carney said, and his agenda is to strengthen Canada’s economy regardless of how talks with the United States might turn out. “We’re going to focus on that while we have these negotiations with the Americans, and if the negotiations with the Americans take longer, so be it,” he said. “We’ve got more than enough to do here.”

Changes at home: Besides dealing with Trump, Carney said affordability, security and safety will be the focuses of his new government. He recited Liberal platform commitments, from rapid housing construction to strengthening the military and border patrols to cutting the growth in the government’s program spending to two per cent a year.

“We will balance our operating budget over the next three years by cutting waste, capping the public service, ending duplicative programs and deploying technology to boost public sector productivity,” he said.

Carney reiterated his campaign promises to pass legislation eliminating federal barriers to internal trade and cutting the tax rate on the lowest bracket by July 1.

No deal in the Commons: Although he’s promising “the biggest transformation of our economy since the end of the Second World War,” Carney flatly ruled out a formal deal with another party in Parliament, like the one Justin Trudeau made with the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh, to guarantee the Liberals’ governing position in exchange for policy concessions.

“We will need to get majority support to pass legislation,” he said. “We will be putting forth legislation that’s consistent with our platform and consistent with the requirements of the time.”

Upcoming events: Expect a new cabinet to be sworn in during the week of May 12, Carney said. Who will do what—including whether François-Philippe Champagne will stay as finance minister—is still to be determined. The House of Commons will sit again on May 26, and King Charles will deliver the speech from the throne the following day, the first time the reigning monarch has done so since 1977.

Shortly after Carney’s news conference, Conservative Damien Kurek, who was re-elected in his Alberta riding by a massive margin Monday, said he’d step down so Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre can run in a byelection and return to Parliament after losing his own seat on Monday.

Carney said he’ll call such a byelection as quickly as possible. “No games,” he said.