OTTAWA, Dec.20 (Xinhua) -- Canadians are expected to spend less than last year for the Christmas holiday due to a slowdown in the national economy, according to a study available here on Wednesday.

    A new Scotiabank Holiday Spending study expects Canadians to spend an average of 822 Canadian dollars (740 U.S. dollars) this holiday season, down from 900 Canadian dollars (810 U.S. dollars) in 2005.

    The study blames the spending decrease on a slowdown in national economic activity, especially in the export and manufacturing-intensive provinces of central Canada.

    It also suggests that warmer-than-normal weather across Canada has probably contributed to a delay in spending plans.

    Despite the decline, Scotiabank's Deputy Chief Economist Aron Gampel said that the season was still "shaping up to be a good one,with gift cards keeping Canadians shopping through the opening months of the New Year."

    For the most part, Canadians remain confident consumers, with continuing employment gains, rising incomes, buoyant housing markets, stable borrowing costs, lower gasoline prices at the pumps, and increasing discounts by retailers providing a favorable backdrop for spending, said Gampel.

    The majority of spending, 76 percent, will go towards gifts for others, says the study. The most popular gifts are clothing (33 percent), toys (22 percent), electronics (17 percent), and money or gift cards (10 percent each).