In this article, we report perceived professional development (PD) needs, interests, and challenges of ESL instructors in rural Alberta from the perspectives of instructors and administrators. We collected questionnaire responses from instructors who taught in programs offered in five rural locations with a large recent influx of newcomers requiring ESL instruction. This was followed by focus-group interviews with the instructors and individual interviews with their program administrators. The findings highlight the importance of PD designed to meet the specific needs of rural instructors and to facilitate effective ESL teaching and learning in their communities. We offer recommendations for designing PD for ESL programs.