Western Forest Products Inc. Announces Board of Director Changes

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 11, 2018 -- Western Forest Products Inc. (TSX:WEF) (“Western” or the “Company”) announced today that Mr. Barrie Shineton will not be standing for re-election as a director at Western’s Annual and Special Meeting on May 3, 2018, and that Ms. Suzanne Blanchet has been proposed as a nominee for election to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”).

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Mr. Shineton for his invaluable guidance, advice and contributions during his tenure on Western’s Board,” said Lee Doney, Chairman of Western Forest Products Inc. “Following an extensive search, we are pleased to have Ms. Blanchet stand as a nominee to our Board. Suzanne has an impressive and diverse resume of board service and executive management experience.”

Until 2017, Ms. Blanchet was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development with Cascades Inc. Prior to that, Ms. Blanchet served as President and CEO of Cascades Tissue Group. She currently serves on the boards of Argopur Dairy Cooperative, Atis Group Inc., Solmax and Éco Entreprise Québec. Ms. Blanchet has previously served as a director for a number of companies including Rona Inc., and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

About Western Forest Products Inc.

Western is an integrated Canadian forest products company and the largest coastal British Columbia timberlands operator and lumber producer. The Company has an annual available harvest greater than 6 million cubic metres of timber, of which approximately 5.8 million cubic metres is from Crown lands. Western has a lumber capacity in excess of 1.1 billion board feet from seven sawmills. Principal activities of the Company include timber harvesting, sawmilling logs into specialty lumber, and value added remanufacturing. With operations and employees primarily on the coast of British Columbia and one location in Washington State, Western is a premier supplier of high-value, specialty forest products to markets worldwide.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements under the applicable securities laws. Readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, may be forward-looking statements and can be identified by the use of words such as “will” and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the election of directors to the Board. Although such statements reflect management’s current reasonable beliefs, expectations and assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements are accurate, and actual results or performance may materially vary. Many factors could cause our actual results or performance to be materially different, including a change in the Company’s financial situation and other factors referenced under the “Risks and Uncertainties” section of our MD&A in our 2017 Annual Report dated February 15, 2018.

For further information, please contact:

Stephen Williams,                    
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer                      
(604) 648-4500                                                                           

Babita Khunkhun
Senior Director, Communications
(604) 648-4562