Canada has witnessed a sharp increase in hate crimes targeting religion, sexual orientation, and race since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released this week by Statistics Canada.

Statistics Canada said that Canada, proud to be a diverse country welcoming immigrants and refugees, saw a 72 percent jump in the hate crime rate between 2019 and 2021.

This increase is partly attributed to the pandemic, which exposed and exacerbated safety and discrimination issues.

Chinese Canadians reported increased discrimination due to Wuhan, as China was the virus's epicenter.

In June, the World Health Organization said its recent investigation into the origin of COVID-19 was inconclusive, largely because data from China is missing.

In 2021, hate crimes targeting religion jumped by 67 percent, those targeting sexual orientation rose by 64 percent, and those targeting race or ethnicity increased by 6 percent.

This pushed minorities to urge the government to issue an anti-racism law.

Emily Guo, chair of the Canadian Chinese National Council for Social Justice, told Reuters: "We simply cannot afford any more delays in taking action to stop hate and racism against Asians."

The council has asked the federal government to pass an anti-racism law to collect specific information about perpetrators, where the crime occurred, and the circumstances under which it happened to hold offenders accountable.

Guo said the government is reviewing the request. There was no immediate response to a request for comment.

Immigration is a critical growth driver for the Canadian economy, with migrant workers accounting for 84 percent of the total labor force growth in 2010, according to Statistics Canada.

Canada welcomed a record 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021 and Ottawa set an ambitious target of 432,000 new arrivals this year.

Several incidents targeting Asians led Manan Doshi, an international student who recently came to Canada, to question staying in the country.

Doshi said his family asked him to return to India after he witnessed some life-threatening incidents at Toronto subway stations that frightened him.

Mohamed Hashim, executive director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, recommended that the federal government invest $15 million to help victims of hate crimes.