There are no reliable sources of information to allow an assessment of population trends for Common Poorwill in Canada. The Breeding Bird Atlas of British Columbia suggests that the species may have experienced a small increase in range in that province, although this may be due to improved search effort and familiarity with the species (Boyd, 2015). Common Poorwill was detected too infrequently on atlas point counts to contribute to knowledge of its abundance. Only a few observations of the species were recorded in the Breeding Birds of Alberta (Semenchuk, 2007). The species is so infrequently recorded on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes that there is no trend available for Canada. BBS results for North America suggest that the continental population has remained relatively stable since 1970. However, the species is poorly sampled throughout its range, and counts are thought to be affected by moonlight and weather, since these affect calling rates (Woods et al., 2005). 

No population goal is set for Common Poorwill because there are not enough data to estimate population trends. Improved monitoring is needed to enable development of a population goal for this species.