Weak Signal/No signal southwest of Ottawa

That is strange, Your area should have proper signal coverage https://www.telus.com/en/mobility/network/coverage-map

Which cellular plan are you on? have you checked if the plan is active and all bill has been paid? As well, how about people around you, are they having similar issues? 

I hear mixed messages from people around me, mostly bad.  The coverage map does not show all the little spots where there's no signal. Try driving from Almonte to Carleton Place; at least 3 dead zones. 

My plan:

https://www.koodomobile.com/my-account/mobile-services/account/wYp0k9d1lXU_FMWHZkJYSQ/subscriber/0ni0AxcX33x-qd4sAXMRhg?INTCMP=072016_Myacct_Overview_Mob_ToPlan

All bills paid promptly. 

Would be interesting to know if you know any Bell or Virgin customers with the same issue in the same general areas.  Telus generally uses Bell towers in Ontario, thus knowing this might narrow down whether this is a tower issue or something else (probably not your phone since your wife has the same issue).  

Also, do you have 5G service in Almonte?

I can’t see your plan through a link like this since we are just fellow customers and don’t have access to your account. From your link, I assume you are a postpaid customer and your account is active.

Cellular coverage deficiency is actually the easiest thing to blame, but the hardest to fix, since they can’t just put up a new tower right away. Have you checked your phone to make sure it is set up normally? Have you tried resetting the phone's network settings and testing the SIM card in another phone to see if the issue follows the SIM?

Thanks Ross Koodo. If Telus, which owns Koodo, uses Bell towers, then maybe it's a lack of towers. Apparently Rogers has more towers near Almonte. But I switched to Koodo after 30+ years with Rogers. Prices always going up, ridiculous price for "roam-like-home", billing errors that were taking 4 months fix and many hours talking to customer service about them.

I've been researching Freedom and seeing a lot of positive information. Apparently their system searches for the strongest signal from whatever towers are nearby and grabs that(?). Prices comparable to Koodo. Plans that include $0 extra to Make & receive calls between Europe & Canada. Next week I may port my numbers over there.

Just checked out a cell towers map, looks like Almonte has  Rogers tower on the edge of town whereas the Bell towers are somewhat farther from town.  So I would expect the Rogers signal to be better, especially if you have hilly land or other potential signal blockers of the Bell signal.

With Fredom, I would try it out for a few days before porting to make sure it works for you.  Freedoms signal  can very considerably from area to area, especially in areas where there are Freedom towers (of which Almonte has none which means it will probably work for you).

If you believe Rogers is better, try Rogers. Be careful with Freedom Mobile's coverage; you might benefit from using their “roaming network,” but you have to use their primary network when within their coverage zones. If you travel to other areas, you might face a dilemma where another carrier has a better signal and Freedom doesn't offer similar quality.

Anyway, have you had a chance to reset your network settings and test the SIM on another phone?

Thanks. Haven't tried resetting network settings yet. Don't have another phone to try SIM but iit was replaced by Telus store staff in Carleton Place so should be OK. Will go back there and chat with them some more.