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M I L L A R W E S T E R N F O R E S T P R O D U C T S L T D .

T e l : 7 8 0 . 4 8 6 . 8 2 0
0           F a x : 7 8 0 . 4
8 6 . 8 2 8 2

Exhibit 12.1

CERTIFICATION

I, J. Craig Armstrong, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of Millar
Western Forest Products Ltd.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
company as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The company's other certifying officer and I are responsible
for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over
financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f))
for the company and have:

(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to
ensure that material information relating to the company, including its
consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities,
particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our
supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of
financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the company's disclosure
controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the
period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the company's
internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period
covered by the annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably
likely to materially affect, the company's internal control over financial
reporting; and

5. The company's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
reporting, to the company's auditors and the audit committee of the company's
board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
reasonably likely to adversely affect the company's ability to record, process,
summarize and report financial information; and

(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant role in the company's
internal control over financial reporting.

Dated: March 7, 2017

|/s/ J. Craig
      Armstrong          | 
|------------------------------------- | 
|J. Craig Armstrong                    | 
|President and Chief Executive Officer | 

1 6 6 4 0  1 1 1 A v e n u e , E d m o n t o n , A l b e r t a
, C a n a d a T 5 M 2 S 5

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