It's true. We have 51 communities, none of which are connected to any north-south power grid. Up until only a few years ago, it was almost 100% diesel power generation in our 51 communities. We have had some hydroelectric projects come online over the last five years, especially in northern Quebec, and we also have renewables such as wind and solar that now account for approximately 18% of our energy generation in our communities. We've talked a lot about bringing Inuit Nunangat into Canada. A way to do that is by ensuring that we have north-south links for essential infrastructure such as energy, as well as for ports, roads and aviation infrastructure.
We have a cost of living that is two to three times that of southern Canada. Also, the cost of energy is sometimes even more than three times that in southern Canada, as all of our energy has to be imported, usually by marine sealift and usually once per year, into our remote communities. This means that housing costs or just general costs for running businesses are almost too high to bear.
If you're paying thousands of dollars to heat your business every month during the winter, it makes it really hard for you to run a successful business. If you're looking to heat a private home.... Our median income is $70,000 less than non-Inuit who live within our homeland; it's $32,000 versus $100,000. This means that people are living in poverty or that people are food insecure.
Mostly it creates this negative loop where, for any opportunities or any advantage we might have for this country, Inuit cannot share incrementally in the growth of Canada in the same way that many other Canadians can, whether it be in growing the economy, our education or health outcomes, or the connectivity outcomes that many Canadians can think of when thinking about their own futures. With regard to our connectivity, we are largely connected through satellite technology, as of right now, largely through Starlink.
We're hoping that the Government of Canada can work with us on solutions to connectivity and these other challenges. However, right now it just means that Inuit Nunangat is almost an entirely different jurisdiction from the rest of Canada.