Jewish groups are calling on the federal government to do more – to help police fight hate crimes.

The groups want the Trudeau Liberals to follow through on a pledge by the prime minister – to expand a program aimed at helping religious groups – pay for security at their facilities.

This comes following a report from Statistics Canada that shows the number of hate crimes reported to police – jumped sharply last year.

Crimes against Jewish people increased for a second consecutive year – and accounted for 18 per cent of all reported hate crimes.