Strongest wood in the world
Austrailian Buloke 5,060 lbf
Weakest wood in the world
Balsa 22 lbf

Prevalent Hardwood Species available in Canada

Brazillian Cherry, Jatoba 2,350 lbf
Santos Mahogany 2,200 lbf
Tigerwood 2,160 lbf
Hickory 1,820 lbf
Hard Maple, Sugar Maple 1,450 lbf
White Oak 1,360 lbf
White Ash 1,320 lbf
Northern Red Oak 1,290 lbf
Walnut 1,010 lbf

Not recommended for stairs and floors

Paper Birch 910 lbf
Sil Maple 700 lbf
poplar 540 lbf

PLEASE NOTE

lbf stands for pounds-force, which is a unit of measurement for the force required to embed a steel ball into a given sample.

The Janka scale measures the force needed to press a steel ball that is 0.444 inches (11.28mm) in diameter halfway into a piece of wood. The higher the lbf number, the more durable and resistant the wood is.

Generally speaking anything over 1,000 lbf is sufficient for residential  use.

Dimensional lumber, such as wall studs, solid floor joists, stair stringers and stair treads are constructed  Spruce-Pine-Fir (S-P-F) with a combined Janka Scale Rating of 483 lbf.