Northern Shrike largely breeds north of the area covered by the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). A larger portion of the wintering range is sampled by the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), although even it provides only medium coverage. The continental CBC trend reflects both the population breeding in Canada, and those that breed in Alaska, most of which occur in Canada as migrants. Although the CBC data show some considerable inter-annual fluctuations, there has overall been a steady decline since the early 1970s, amounting to a cumulative loss of 32%.

The goal for Northern Shrike is to increase the population to the level it was at in the early 1970s, based on the Christmas Bird Count. Trend data show that Northern Shrike is currently below its goal range and continuing to decline. Despite this, analysis of recent trends and potential growth rates suggests that Northern Shrike could reach its population goal by 2050, but only if timely conservation action is taken.