Western Forest Products Completes $80 Million Stillwater Sale to Tla'amin Nation

Western Forest Products and Qwoqwnes Forestry Holdings, an entity owned and controlled by Tla'amin Nation, completed the sale of the Stillwater Forest Operation near Powell River, British Columbia, for aggregate proceeds of approximately $80.0 million after adjustments. TradingView published the announcement on November 3, 2026.

Western Forest Products is a Vancouver-based integrated forest products company with five sawmills and lumber capacity of 785 million board feet. Tla'amin Nation is a self-governing modern treaty nation with significant land holdings in the qathet region, and its treaty with Canada and British Columbia came into force in 2016.

What Qwoqwnes Acquired in the Stillwater Deal

Qwoqwnes acquired a 100% ownership interest in the assets comprising the Stillwater Forest Operation. The operation includes Tree Farm Licence 39, formerly known as Block 1, which covers approximately 154,000 hectares of forest land, most of it in Tla'amin Nation's traditional territory.

Through the business of Thichum Forest Products, Qwoqwnes will manage an allowable annual cut of 469,200 cubic metres of timber from TFL 39. Qwoqwnes and Western also entered a long-term fibre supply agreement to sell timber harvested from TFL 39 to Western, intended to support Western's BC coastal manufacturing operations.

"Completing this transaction is a significant moment for Thichum and for the qathet region," said Adam Culos, Vice President, Forestry and Forest Sustainability, of Thichum Forest Products. Steven Hofer, President and CEO of Western, said the closing "adds certainty and stability to our business through long-term fibre supply and supports our continued focus on transitioning to higher-value product manufacturing."

Western's Earlier Stillwater Agreement

According to akta.pro company records, Western agreed in February 2026 to sell the Stillwater Forest Operation, described as TFL 39 with roughly 154,000 hectares and an allowable annual cut of 469,200 cubic metres, to Tla'amin Nation's Qwoqwnes Forestry Holdings for $80 million, alongside a long-term fibre supply agreement back to Western's coastal mills. The same records list Western's lumber capacity at 785 million board feet across five sawmills, with some sources citing about 780 million board feet.

Western's Path to the Closing

In August 2026, Western reported second-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $0.4 million, down from $0.5 million a year earlier, as lumber shipments fell 25% and combined duty and tariff rates rose to 45%, Yahoo reported. MarketBeat reported on August 14, 2026 that adjusted EBITDA stayed flat on a 25% drop in shipment volumes and sharply higher softwood lumber duties and tariffs. In April 2026, Western signed a memorandum of understanding with Hanwha Ocean, Centurion Lumber Manufacturing, Wing International and We Weai Kai Nation to explore a modular housing manufacturing initiative on Vancouver Island, according to the same records.