Despite being in healthier financial shape than their U.S. counterparts, Canadian consumers are planning more drastic cuts to spending than Americans and Europeans in 2009, a new survey shows.

The survey by the Boston Consulting Group shows that 62% of Canadians plan to reduce spending in the year ahead, compared to 58% of Americans and 56% of Europeans in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France.

Furthermore, the Canadians who plan to cut spending anticipate doing so by 15% — a greater reduction than the 13% by American consumers and 12% by Europeans.

These results are despite Boston Consulting Group research showing that Canadian consumers have entered the recession in a better structural position than U.S. consumers.

Specifically, Canadians have higher savings rates at 3% in 2008 compared with about 1.5% among U.S. consumers. In addition, Canadians have lower debt-to-income ratios and bigger equity stakes in their homes.

Average credit-card debt per household in Canada is $3,100 compared with $8,200 in the United States. More than 70% of Canadian households pay off credit card debt each month, versus less than half of those in the U.S.

Canadians average two credit cards per household, while U.S. consumers average six, and the credit card delinquency rate in Canada is half of that in the United States.

The residential real-estate market is also healthier in Canada than in the United States, with a lower mortgage-delinquency rate, subprime loans that are far less common and more rigorous lending standards.

“Compared with U.S. consumers, Canadian consumers are entering the downturn with more secure household finances, healthier real-estate fundamentals, and more conservative levels of credit and debt. Despite this structural superiority, Canadians are battening down the hatches and bracing for a tough year ahead,” said Cliff Grevler, a BCG partner.

“Canadian consumers are planning cutbacks in 2009 to a greater degree than their U.S. counterparts. We anticipate that the result will be a ‘cycle of thrift’ in Canada, and it will have self-fulfilling effects.”

According to the survey of 1,000 Canadian adults in charge of household purchasing, one-third of Canadians said they were not financially secure, and an additional 8% said that they were in financial trouble. The survey was conducted in late November and early December.

Nearly three-quarters of the Canadian respondents said they would pay more attention to and buy more products that are on promotion, while only 65% of U.S. consumers expressed that intention.

Almost 70% of Canadians said they would defer major expenses that can wait, compared to 63% of U.S. respondents.

Furthermore, 58% of Canadians plan to “significantly” cut spending on nonessential items, compared with only 50% of U.S. consumers.

“Canadian consumers are clearly more conservative than their counterparts in the United States. It’s notable that when asked why they intend to cut spending this year, 51% of Canadians said one of the reasons is that they expect to save more money; only 45% of U.S. consumers gave that reason,” Grevler said.

He added that 64% of Canadians think the downturn will last longer than a year.

The areas where both Canadians and U.S. consumers plan to cut back most include restaurants and fast food (49%), vacation travel (40%), consumer electronics (28%), home furnishings and décor (27%), and cars (20%).

Interestingly, the survey suggests that women are more concerned about the economic downturn than men.

While 30% of Canadian women said they feel insecure about their current finances, only 19% of men feel the same way. In addition, 41% of women said they feel as if they have too much debt, compared with 27% of men, and 14% of women are worried about losing their job, compared with 10% of men.

In terms of spending habits, 65% of Canadian women say that they’ll cut spending, compared with 58% of men. Those Canadian women plan an average spending cut of 16%, while the men anticipate a 13% cut.

“More and more, women are defining the consumer economy,” said Grevler. “Our research suggests that women control 68% of consumer spending in Canada. They are the accountants of the household budget, and, increasingly, they’re responsible for producing the income too. It’s not surprising that the shift in the economy is registering more profoundly with them.”

IE