President George W. Bush will today try to assure leaders of Canada and Mexico that the United States wants to build closer ties with them despite the distraction of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mexican President Felipe Calderón, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and US President George Bush
Mr Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderón are expected to unveil an initiative to avoid crippling delays in border crossings in the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or epidemic such as avian flu.
But the Quebec summit of the North American leaders risked being overshadowed by the hurricane that hit Mexico's Caribbean coast today.
Not long after he arrived in Montebello, Quebec, for what has been dubbed the "Three Amigos summit," Mr Calderón announced he was cutting his trip short to deal with the fallout from Hurricane Dean.
Mr Bush told Mr Calderón the United States was willing to help after Dean, which packed winds of 165 miles per hour (265 kph), made landfall as a rare Category 5 storm.
The summit at the chateau by the Ottawa River got under way amid demonstrations by protesters who shouted for Mr Bush to go home and objected to the aim of boosting trade and working on a common approach against terrorism.
Critics expressed concern that broadening economic ties would erode national sovereignty and that closer co-operation on anti-terrorism could lead to human rights abuses.