The Canadian population of Red-tailed Hawk is monitored through both the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and the continental Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The BBS samples roughly one-third of the Canadian breeding range, but is well-suited to the species and trends have high precision. The CBC covers a larger proportion of the wintering range, but because the United States population is much larger, the degree to which the continental trend reflects the Canadian population is unclear. The national BBS trend shows a strong increase from the early 1970s to early 1990s, but then a gradual decline ever since, back to early 1980s levels, although still 36% above early 1970s abundance. In contrast, the continental CBC trend has shown a steady and sustained increase ever since 1970. The BBS decrease has been particularly notable in southern Ontario and Quebec, the only region where the population level is now slightly below 1970s levels. This is also reflected in the six Canadian Raptor Population Index trends from this region starting in 2000 or earlier, all of which show slight to large declines.

The goal for Red-tailed Hawk is to remain at or above its recent population level, based on the Breeding Bird Survey. Trend data show that Red-tailed Hawk is currently within its goal range.