Thanks for all the insightful replies.
Couple more specifics about my situation.
If employee: get stat holidays paid, get 4% vacation pay, am overtime eligible at 1.5x hourly rate, can participate in group benefit program; no other perks, no RSP matching, no HSA, no short/long term retention bonus, no bonus at all
If contractor, none of the above.
From what I am hearing here, the quantity of tax deductible business expenses is one deciding factor, the other is if CRA designates me a PSB.
This job will be 90% office work in downtown Calgary, 10% travel to field. Companies preferred mode of transport for field work is flying to nearest airport and rental truck. Field gear required is minimal, computer, maybe dedicated camera, PPE, that's about it.
My Karma ran over your Dogma