The Canadian population of Canvasback is monitored well by two surveys. The Waterfowl Breeding Population Habitat Survey (WBPHS) is considered to be most representative, as it is designed specifically for waterfowl, provides good coverage of the population, and has high precision. The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has similarly high overall reliability. The continental Christmas Bird Count (CBC) results also provide high coverage, but reliability is low because of poor precision in the trends. The WBPHS and BBS agree that there has been little change relative to 1970. The CBC trend shows a moderate decline, but because of low reliability, that result does not affect the confidence in the status.

The goal for Canvasback is to maintain is to maintain a population of at least 440,000 individuals within the area sampled by the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey. This is based on the North American Waterfowl Management Plan's goal of 581,000 individuals across the survey's full range, but adjusted to reflect the average proportion of the breeding population in Canada (76%). Data from the Canadian portion of the range indicate that Canvasback is currently within its goal range.