Alberta's economy will be on a roller-coaster ride for the foreseeable future, Premier Ed Stelmach says.

Speaking in Calgary on Friday, he said it's hard to predict what the economy will do in the short term, but he expects things will get worse before they get better.

Echoing predictions made last week by the Fraser Institute, a conservative think tank, Stelmach said the economy would likely continue to shrink this year before posting some growth in 2010.

"There's so many factors in the mix," he said.

"It's just not oil and gas prices, but it's the value of the dollar, the manufacturing sector, and that's why we're promoting Alberta globally, because we have to find new markets for our products."

In April, the province tabled its first deficit budget in 16 years, with plans to be $4.7 billion in the red by next March.

Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove has been holding private meetings with labour unions in hopes of finding ways to reduce the red ink by $2 billion.