The online community is a real boon to picking up on good sales. I subscribe to many of the site sponsors mailing lists and have found a number of businesses that I wouldn’t have even known existed thanks to this forum and others like it. Good deals can be had year round if you’re willing to keep on top of everything. With the limited Canadian market (as mentioned above), branching out from your local area will yield results.
And yes, some dealers will put on various holiday sales.