North American Leaders Summit Postponed in Hawaii Because of Mexican Crash

HONOLULU - The White House announced Saturday that the North American Leaders Summit scheduled for Sunday evening has been postponed because Mexican President Calderon has to stay home in the wake of a deadly crash killing several government officials.

The summit was the second one planned in Hawaii that the president was hosting, and was set to take place after Obama after wrapped up to days of bilateral meetings with world leaders at the APEC summit.

The president was originally slated to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Harper and Calderon including a working dinner. Obama is still expected to meet with Harper separately on Sunday.

Calderon will be hoping helping his country deal with the devastating helicopter crash that killed Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Blake Mora along with a handful of other government colleagues. Blake is Mexico's number two official and the face of the country's drug war. Calderon said at a memorial service, "The best way to honor these citizens is to step up the efforts to transform Mexico into the country they wanted.

Obama had called Calderon from Air Force One Friday and said his thoughts and prayers were with the families of those lost.

The North American Leaders Summit is a yearly meeting and there were no immediate details given on when it would be rescheduled. White House officials said the goal for the meeting was to talk about competitiveness and how they can work together on job creation. They were also slated to prepare for the Summit of the Americas happening next year.

Obama heads to Australia and Indonesia after he wraps up events in Hawaii.