I don't have specifics, but I remember the original 7D dropping $100-200 in price after a year or so. I picked up a pair of them refurbished for $500 below original list, but that was only $300 off current selling price IIRC.

I figure there's likely to be three general price tiers: initial price, intended to recover R&D costs over an absolutely safe guess for quantity of product sold in the first year; second price, profitable over manufacturing/distribution/marketing/warranty/satisfaction-return-guarantee* costs are covered; third price, far less profitable but intended to move nearly every last unit so the shelves are empty as the newer model starts shipping. * Canon can easily choose to "surrender" this margin by offering a rebate for part of the time the product is being sold; by making it a mail-in rebate, customers have to commit to cutting out the UPC from the box, rendering it unreturnable, and putting the onus on the customer for how quickly they want the rebate money vs. how long they want to keep the box intact.

Canon probably doesn't need to sell every last unit, as the final few pieces can easily become parts for future repairs. Nonetheless, they probably want to manage inventory well, as they probably set up the factory line(s) for one or a few products at a time, and adjust run cycles based on demand. Overbuilding on one item causes excess warehouse space needs and delays the build cycle for the next "thing".