Several surveys provide insight into the status of White-winged 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 monitors a broad portion of the range and has moderate 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 parts of the breeding range and has low precision. The Eastern Waterfowl Survey (EWS) is the only source of data specific to the eastern population, but it samples only the southern edge of the breeding range, dates back just to 1990, and is timed poorly to detect the species, resulting in low reliability trends. For the western population, the British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey (BCCWS) provides supplemental insights, but just since 1999, and with only moderate precision.

The continental CBC trend shows a fairly steady decline since 1970, amounting to a moderate decrease of 44%. Although the BBS indicates a much larger decline of 92% over the same period, this may in part reflect a northward shift of the breeding distribution away from BBS coverage, and the reliability is too low to warrant adjusting the national status. The EWS shows a large increase of 275% but there is broad uncertainty around this estimate, given the low precision of the trend. The Pacific Coast CBC trend shows a long-term trend of -87%, similar to the -72% indicated by the BCCWS, allowing for high confidence that the Western population has undergone a large decrease.

The national goal for White-winged Scoter is to increase the population to the level it was at in the early 1970s, based on the continental analysis of the Christmas Bird Count. Trend data show that this population is currently below its goal range, but has been relatively stable over the past decade. Analysis of recent trends and potential growth rates suggests that the national population of White-winged Scoter could reach its goal by 2050 with the support of conservation action.

The goal for the western population of White-winged Scoter is to increase the population to the level it was at in the early 1970s, based on the Christmas Bird Count analysis for the Pacific Coast. Trend data show that this population is far below its goal range and continuing to decline. The trend will need to stabilize before the population can begin to rebound, and it is not realistic for the goal to be met by 2050. Based on analysis of the historical population loss and potential growth rates, the interim target is to reach 25% of the goal by that year. Achieving this target, and ultimately reaching the national goal for this species, will require ambitious and long-term conservation action.

The goal for the eastern population of White-winged 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.