The best time to buy appliances in Canada is late November into December, if the old one can hold out that long. I'd watch two windows in that stretch: the makers' Black Friday promotions, then Boxing Day week. Consumer Reports, tracking American prices, found refrigerators at their lowest on Black Friday. Long weekends and the end of a maker's promotion on a given model come next.
An appliance promotion is a price the maker sets for a fixed run of weeks, after which the listing returns to its regular price. Knowing when a promotion ends matters more than guessing at a "sale season". One rule sits above the calendar: a fridge that can't hold 4°C won't wait for Black Friday.
I'm Michael Ruhr, and I write from Merit Home Furniture in Duncan, on Vancouver Island. Merit Duncan, where I work, is phasing appliances out. The fridges, ranges, washers and dishwashers in Merit's appliance department are carried at our Campbell River and Port Alberni stores, or ordered specially by phone. What follows is the sale calendar as the record shows it, with the dates and prices from our own listings on November 1, 2026.
When is the best time to buy appliances?
The best time to buy appliances falls in three kinds of windows. The first is late November through December, when Black Friday promotions run and Boxing Day follows. The second is the long weekends, which retailers across Canada use for appliance events. The third, and the one most people miss, is the run of weeks while a maker's promotion covers the exact model you want.
That third window is the one I'd watch. Makers like Whirlpool, Frigidaire, LG, Samsung and Bosch set promotional prices in blocks of weeks, and each block has an end date. On Merit's site, a listing on a maker promotion carries that end date in our records, and our appliance sale collection gathers every listing with one running. Its own description says it shows appliances "at the price shown" and that the list "updates itself as each promotion starts and ends."
Model changeovers matter too, though less neatly than the calendars online suggest. A new model year doesn't arrive on one date for every maker or every appliance, and I haven't found a single changeover calendar for Canada from any maker we list. When a new model comes in, the outgoing one is the one that tends to get cheaper.
So the honest answer depends on whether you can wait. With a working fridge and a renovation planned for spring, there's time to watch a promotion come and go. With a dead one, the cheapest month is the one you're in.
Best time of year to buy appliances in Canada, month by month
Here is the year laid out against British Columbia's statutory holidays and what the record shows for each stretch. The holiday dates come from the Province of BC, which lists 11 statutory holidays for 2027. The promotion end dates are from Merit's listings, read November 1, 2026.
| Period | BC dates (2027) | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| January to early February | New Year's Day, January 1 | Promotions on our listings run to January 6, January 13 and February 3, 2027, for LG, Bosch and Samsung models |
| February to May | Family Day, February 15; Good Friday, March 26; Victoria Day, May 24 | Consumer Reports found new range models, released early in the year, kept average range prices high through spring |
| Summer | Canada Day, July 1; B.C. Day, August 2 | Consumer Reports saw American fridge prices peak in May, and range prices dip with each holiday after July Fourth |
| September and October | Labour Day, September 6; Thanksgiving, October 11 | Fall promotions; Consumer Reports suggests waiting out Labour Day sales for November |
| November and December | Remembrance Day, November 11; Christmas Day, December 25 | Our 2026 Black Friday promotions run November 19 to December 9, 2026; Boxing Day isn't a statutory holiday in B.C. |
Two cautions go with that table. The Consumer Reports figures are American, from prices it tracked in 2016 and 2017, so they show a pattern rather than a Canadian price list. And a long weekend is a date retailers like to run events on, but I can't point to any Canadian study that measures how much appliance prices drop on one.
The pattern still makes sense for an Island buyer. By November, Consumer Reports found the average refrigerator price had dropped almost $250 from the peak it saw in May. In the year it tracked, a Whirlpool French door fridge released in July was discounted $500 by November. That is the model-year effect in one example, a new model settling in price over its first few months.
Black Friday and Boxing Day appliance deals in Canada
Black Friday is an American date, the Friday after U.S. Thanksgiving, and Canadian retailers took it up as a sales event. Consumer Reports wrote that the retail industry had started calling the whole month "Black November", because the promotional period keeps getting longer. Our own Black Friday promotions show the same stretch: three weeks rather than one day.
Boxing Day works differently in this province. The Province of BC says Easter Sunday, Easter Monday and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays in B.C. Stores set their own Boxing Day hours and sales, so a call ahead tells you what a given store is doing that day.
What makes a Black Friday price a real deal is the regular price behind it. The Competition Bureau, which enforces Canada's rules on advertised prices, sets two tests for an "ordinary price" claim. Under the volume test, more than 50% of sales should be at or above the reference price, counted over the twelve months before or after the claim. Under the time test, the product should be offered at or above that price for more than 50% of the six months before or after.
The Bureau also warned shoppers in November 2024 about pressure tactics, such as a countdown timer that resets and the deal still there. A fridge stays in the kitchen for years, and a day or two of checking costs nothing. The Bureau put its own advice plainly: "research your options before you buy, watch for patterns, and question the claims."
Is Black Friday the best time to buy appliances?
For refrigerators, Consumer Reports' American tracking found the lowest average prices on Black Friday. For a model left out of a maker's flyer, Black Friday may change nothing. Merit's appliance listings show one price, the promotional price while a promotion runs, with no "was" price beside it. To tell whether a listing is on a promotion, check whether it appears on our promotions page, then compare its price with what the same model sells for elsewhere.
What Merit's appliance promotions show on November 1, 2026
On November 1, 2026, 1,141 appliance listings on Merit's site carried a promotion end date. Of those, 823 are special orders, with no store carrying them, and the rest are carried at Campbell River, Port Alberni or both. Here is when each group's promotion ends, by the latest date tagged on the listing.
| Promotion ends | Makers | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| November 18, 2026 | Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Bosch, Frigidaire, Samsung, Electrolux, Maytag and others | 932 |
| December 9, 2026 | Mostly the Whirlpool and Frigidaire Black Friday flyers, plus a few Samsung and Bosch models | 45 |
| December 30, 2026 | LG washers and dryers | 30 |
| December 31, 2026 | Danby and Silhouette | 26 |
| January 6, 2027 | LG and LG Studio, mostly fridges and cooking | 85 |
| January 13, 2027 | Bosch dishwashers | 5 |
| February 3, 2027 | Samsung | 18 |
The Black Friday listings have their own pages. The Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid flyer page lists 22 models, and the Frigidaire and Electrolux page lists 26. Both pages give the dates as November 19 to December 9, 2026. Some listings on them carry an earlier promotion tagged to end November 18, the day before those dates begin.
A few of the Black Friday listings, with the price each showed on November 1, before applicable taxes:
| Model | Carried at | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Whirlpool French door refrigerator, 36 in. | Campbell River | $1,999.99 |
| Frigidaire Gallery induction range, 30 in. | Campbell River and Port Alberni | $1,899.00 |
| Whirlpool dishwasher with third rack | Campbell River and Port Alberni | $849.99 to $999.99 |
| Maytag top-load washer, Power Agitator | Port Alberni | $849.99 |
| Frigidaire built-in dishwasher, front controls | Port Alberni | $479.00 |
| Frigidaire convertible chest freezer | Campbell River | $279.00 |
| Frigidaire slide-in electric range with air fry | Special order | $1,499.00 |
Outside the flyers, the later end dates are worth a look if January suits you better. The LG 27 in. electric dryer with Sensor Dry showed $1,099.99 to $1,199.99, tagged to December 30. The LG 33 in. bottom freezer refrigerator at Port Alberni showed $1,799.99, tagged to January 6. The Danby and Silhouette promotions end December 31, and if a Silhouette model is on your list, start with picking between a wine cooler and a beverage centre.
A price on any of these can change when its promotion ends, and the next promotion may start the day after. None of that is a reason to rush. It's a reason to note the date on the model you like, and to ask the store what comes next for it.
New appliance models, end of season and end of quarter: what holds up
New appliance models arrive through the year, maker by maker, and the timing with the firmest evidence is for ranges and fridges. Consumer Reports found new range models came out early in the year. It also tracked a fridge launched in July that was $500 cheaper by November. Beyond those two, I'd treat month-by-month "new model" calendars with care, because the makers don't publish them for Canada.
End-of-season clearance is real for a store clearing a floor model or last year's colour. Ask the Campbell River or Port Alberni store whether they have one, because clearance stock is whatever happens to be there. The special orders on our site are ordered new from the maker, so they don't have a clearance price.
The end of a quarter or a month gets repeated online as a time when salespeople cut deals to hit a target. I couldn't find a maker, a regulator or a survey in Canada that measures it, and the Consumer Reports page doesn't mention it. At Merit, appliance prices follow the maker's promotion dates rather than a month-end. If another store shows a lower price on the same model, Merit's Best Price Guarantee, further down, is the answer to that.
What is the cheapest month to buy appliances?
For refrigerators, Consumer Reports' American tracking pointed to November, with Black Friday the low point. For our listings in 2026, the Black Friday weeks from November 19 to December 9 cover the flyer models. There's no published Canadian price index for single appliance models by month, so anyone naming one cheapest month for every appliance is guessing.
When not to wait for an appliance sale
Waiting for an appliance sale stops making sense once the appliance can't do its job safely. A fridge is the clearest case. HealthLink BC gives 4°C as the safe temperature for a refrigerator and -18°C for a freezer. A fridge that can't hold those is costing you food every day it runs warm, and food can make people sick.
HealthLink BC's advice on power outages shows how short the margin is. An unopened appliance keeps items cold for about 4 hours for a refrigerator, 24 hours for a half-full freezer and 48 hours for a full freezer. Past those times, its advice is to throw away all perishable food. A dying fridge is a slower outage, and a full freezer of fish or meat is worth more than most Black Friday savings.
A failing appliance also costs more to run. Natural Resources Canada says an old refrigerator uses about 35% more energy, on average, than an ENERGY STAR certified model. That gap adds up over the months spent waiting for a sale.
How often should appliances be replaced?
How long appliances last depends on use, the model and how it's looked after. I couldn't find a Canadian government figure for appliance lifespans, and the numbers online vary by several years for the same appliance. A better test than age is weighing a repair quote against a new one, and whether parts are still made. Each maker sets its own warranty period, and the store can tell you exactly what a model is covered for before you buy.
Appliance breakdowns: the icemaker problem in fridges
Which appliance breaks down most is hard to answer for Canada, because nobody publishes national repair counts. Within fridges, Consumer Reports estimates that 30 percent of refrigerators with icemakers will have a problem by the end of the fifth year of ownership. Its members reported on 85,290 icemaker refrigerators bought new between 2016 and 2026. A fridge without an icemaker skips that part entirely, and for some households that is the better trade.
If the fridge is warm on a Tuesday in October, I wouldn't sit it out until Black Friday. I'd look at what's on promotion that week, call the Campbell River or Port Alberni store about the model that fits, and keep the food cold in a cooler meanwhile. The sale on the calendar is worth less than what's inside the fridge.
BC Hydro appliance rebates, October 2026 to January 2027
BC Hydro is running appliance rebates from October 2, 2026 to January 8, 2027, on select ENERGY STAR models. The amounts below are from its product rebates page, checked November 1, 2026. Each one applies only to models on BC Hydro's list of eligible products, and each allows up to two units per approved product in a transaction.
| Appliance | BC Hydro rebate |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator | $75 off; at least 15% more efficient than the federal standard |
| Clothes washer | $50 off |
| Combination washer-dryer | $100 off |
| Laundry centre | $200 off |
| Clothes dryer | Varies by model, with BC Hydro's upper limit on its page |
BC Hydro takes the rebate off at the till at the retailers it names, and Merit isn't among them. For other stores, its page offers a claim online after purchase, paid as a bill credit within one to two billing periods. It also says the purchase must be made at a participating retailer in BC Hydro's service territory. Whether a purchase from us qualifies is a question to put to BC Hydro before counting on the money.
Those rebate dates line up with the Black Friday weeks, which is the one place the calendar really does stack in your favour this year. A fridge that's on BC Hydro's list and on a maker promotion gets both, if the store qualifies.
Price matching, warranty and the old appliance
A sale price is only part of what an appliance costs, so here's what comes with one from Merit. Our Best Price Guarantee is short: find a better price, and we'll refund 100% of the difference.
Merit backs the manufacturer warranty on everything we sell, and appliances work a little differently from furniture. For an appliance, our warranty page says to start the claim with the maker, or call the Campbell River or Port Alberni store you bought it from. Danby, for one, has its warranty repairs done by its own authorized servicers. Our page on Silhouette wine coolers and Danby service sets out how Danby's in-home service works on the Island. How a maker's warranty and our own cover sit together, along with what voids a warranty and who fixes it, is in our warranties guide.
For cover past the maker's warranty, SmartOne by Zucora is the extended protection Merit offers, and it works on any item. It runs up to five years, and it is a separate purchase from the appliance.
The old appliance is the last cost. Each store quotes its own haul-away fee, so ask Campbell River or Port Alberni when you call about the new one. Taking it yourself is free at a depot in the MARR network, the Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable, which has sites across BC. In its words, "There is no charge when you drop off your appliance at a MARR collection site."
Big-box chain or Island store: where to buy appliances
A national chain and an Island store can both sell the same maker's model at a promotional price, since the maker sets the promotion. The differences show up after the sale: who you call when it breaks, who brings it, and who takes the old one. Ask each store those three questions with the price. What an Island store does once the sale is over is the longer version of that answer.
Where waiting for an appliance sale costs more than it saves
- The fridge has already stopped holding 4°C. Lost food and a sick household cost more than a promotion saves.
- The model on sale isn't the one that fits. A promotional price on the wrong width, the wrong fuel or the wrong door swing is no saving, so measure the space before the sale starts. The same goes for Wi-Fi: a smart appliance earns its price only through the features you'll use.
- A rebate you assumed. BC Hydro's rebates apply only to listed models bought at a participating retailer, so check the model number and the store against its page first.
- A countdown that resets. The Competition Bureau's own warning is that a deal still there after the timer runs out was never urgent.
- A special order with no date. Special orders come from the maker, so ask when the appliance will arrive before the old one goes out.
Where these appliance sale facts come from
- Consumer Reports, When to Get the Best Deals on Kitchen Appliances (updated October 19, 2018), checked November 2026.
- Consumer Reports, Most and Least Reliable Refrigerator Brands (updated October 15, 2026), checked November 2026.
- Province of British Columbia, Statutory holidays in B.C., checked November 2026.
- Competition Bureau Canada, Ordinary Price Claims, checked November 2026.
- Competition Bureau Canada, The urgency is fake, but the deception is real (November 25, 2024), checked November 2026.
- HealthLink BC, Food safety during and after a power outage, checked November 2026.
- Natural Resources Canada, Refrigerators, checked November 2026.
- BC Hydro, Product rebates, checked November 2026.
- Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable (MARR), BC collection sites, checked November 2026.
- Merit's live appliance listings, promotion end dates and the two Black Friday collection pages, read November 1, 2026.
- Merit Home Furniture, Warranty and repairs and Merit Home Furniture, Port Alberni store (Best Price Guarantee), read November 1, 2026.
Calling Campbell River or Port Alberni about a sale appliance
The appliances in this guide are carried at our Campbell River store on Homewood Road and our Port Alberni store on Third Avenue. Either store can tell you which promotion a model is on and when it ends, and what its own delivery and haul-away cost. Campbell River is open 10 to 5 and Port Alberni 9:30 to 5:30, Monday to Saturday.
Call Campbell River, (250) 286-0868
Call Port Alberni, (250) 724-6644
A listing marked as a special order is ordered by phone at (250) 746-5527. Take your time with any of it, and feel free to end a call without deciding anything. Our full range is under every fridge, range and washer we list, and the rest of our appliance buying guides are gathered on one page.