Canada has imposed targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe to protest against what it calls state-sponsored violence and intimidation.

Canada's government is banning arms exports to Zimbabwe and freezing the assets of top Zimbabwean officials. It is also banning Zimbabwean aircraft from flying over or landing in Canada.

David Emerson (file photo)

Canada's foreign minister, David Emerson, said Zimbabwe's government has made no visible effort to improve the lives of its citizens since disputed presidential elections earlier this year.

In the first round of those elections in March, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat President Robert Mugabe but fell short of a majority.  The MDC leader then pulled out of the June runoff election to protest state-sponsored violence against his supporters.

Many Western countries and some of Zimbabwe's neighbors dismissed Mr. Mugabe's victory in the runoff as a sham.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.