Several surveys provide insight into the status of Surf Scoter in Canada, each of which have different strengths and weaknesses. Overall, the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is likely to best reflect national status, as it is the only program which samples a broad proportion of the range and has high precision in its estimates, although it is less standardized than some other surveys. The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) also provides results at a national scale, but mostly samples the southern edges of the breeding range and has low precision. The Eastern Waterfowl Survey (EWS) provides medium reliability coverage of the Eastern population, but only dating back to 1990. Similarly, the British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey (BCCWS) has medium reliability for the Western population but just since 1999. 

The continental CBC trend shows some fluctuations over time, but overall little change relative to 1970. Although the BBS indicates a moderate decrease of 49% over the same period, its coverage and precision are too low to warrant adjusting the status. The EWS shows a moderate increase of 42%. The Pacific Coast CBC trend shows a long-term trend of -18%, within the range of little change, but the BCCWS indicates a 27% decline over a shorter period, indicating potential for a moderate decrease. 

For both the western and national populations of Surf Scoter, the goal is to maintain abundance at or above the level it was at in the early 1970s, based on the Pacific Coast and continental analyses of the Christmas Bird Count, respectively. Recent data show that these populations are within their goal ranges.

The goal for the eastern population of Surf Scoter is to remain at or above its recent population level, based on the Eastern Waterfowl Survey. Trend data show that this population is currently within its goal range.