Mexican leader cuts Canada visit as hurricane looms

MEXICO CITY, Aug 21 (Reuters) Mexican President Felipe Calderon is cutting short a visit to Canada, where he is meeting US President George W Bush and Canada's prime minister, to come home because of a hurricane off Mexico.

''I'll return to Mexico tomorrow to attend personally to civil protection,'' Mexican radio reported Calderon as said yesterday in Montebello, Quebec, where he is holding talks with with Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Dean killed nine people over the weekend as it blasted through the Caribbean toward Mexico, where it is expected to hit the Yucatan Peninsula early today.

With winds near 150 miles per hour, Dean was likely to become a rare Category 5 -- the strongest type of hurricane -- before making landfall, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Dubbed the ''Three Amigos summit,'' the two-day meeting was called to improve security and economic ties. The leaders were also to look at the credit crunch and turmoil in global financial markets.

Calderon will hold another round of talks with the two North American leaders today before heading home.

He had originally planned to meet other Canadian officials after the summit and then return on Wednesday.

Reuters CS VP0530