The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984. When Tehran, the only other interested city on the international level, declined to bid due to the concurrent Iranian political and social changes the IOC awarded Los Angeles the Games by default.

In response to the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, 14 Eastern Bloc countries including the Soviet Union, Cuba and East Germany (but not Romania) boycotted the Games. For differing reasons, Iran and Libya also boycotted. The USSR announced its intention not to participate on May 8, 1984, citing security concerns and "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States." The Los Angeles boycott influenced a large number of events that were normally dominated by the absent countries. Boycotting countries organized another large event in June–September 1984, called the Friendship Games; however, not even a single competition was held between July 28 and August 12. Representatives of the organizing countries, in particular the USSR, underlined it was "not held to replace the Olympics". Elite athletes from the U.S. and USSR would only compete against each other at the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow, organized in response to the boycotts.

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that started in 1904. The Winter Olympics were also created due to the success of the summer Olympics.

The olympics have increased from a 42-event competition with fewer than 250 male athletes to a 300-event sporting celebration with over 10,000 competitors from 205 nations. Organizers for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing expected approximately 10,500 athletes to take part in the 302 events on the program for the games.

The United States has hosted four Summer Olympics Games, more than any other nation. The United Kingdom will have hosted three Summer Olympics Games when they return to the British capital in 2012, all of them have been (and will be) in London, making it the first city to hold the Summer Olympic Games three times. Australia, France, Germany and Greece have all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice. Other countries that have hosted the summer Olympics are Belgium, China, Canada, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union and Sweden. In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro will host the first Summer Games in South America. Four cities have hosted two Summer Olympic Games: Los Angeles, London, Paris and Athens. Stockholm, Sweden, has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having hosted the games in 1912 and the equestrian events at the 1956 Summer Olympics—which they are usually listed as jointly hosting. Events at the summer Olympics have also been held in Hong Kong and the Netherlands (both represented by their own NOCs), with the equestrian events at the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Hong Kong and two sailing races at the 1920 Summer Olympics being held in the Netherlands.

The Canada First movement was organized in Ottawa in 1868. It was at first supported by Goldwin Smith and Edward Blake. Ontario residents, George Denison, Charles Mair, William Foster and Robert Grant Haliburton founded the movement.

John Christian Schultz, Canadian Party founder, became a leading member of the Canadian Party and was a chief opponent of Louis Riel.

In 1874 they first published "The Nation", a weekly journal based in Toronto.

Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968) is an American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title.

Retton was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, of Italian heritage (her family's original surname was "Rotunda"). Her father, Ronnie, operated a coal-industry transportation equipment business. She attended Fairmont Senior High School, but did not graduate. She competed in the Olympic games during her sophomore year.

Retton lived in Houston, Texas until 2009, when her family returned to West Virginia. She is married to former Houston real estate developer Shannon Kelley, who now works for the Fairmont State University athletic department. Together they have four daughters: Shayla Rae Kelley (born 1995), McKenna Lane Kelley (born 1997), Skyla Brae Kelley (born 2000), and Emma Jean Kelley (born 2002).

Inspired by watching Nadia Comăneci on television, Retton took up gymnastics in her hometown of Fairmont. She was coached by Gary Rafaloski. She then decided to move to Houston, Texas, to train under Romanians Béla and Márta Károlyi, who had coached Nadia Comăneci before their defection to the United States. Under the Károlyis, Retton soon began to make a name for herself in the United States, winning the American Cup in 1983 and placing second to Dianne Durham (another Károlyi student) at the US Nationals that same year. Retton missed the World Championships in 1983 due to a wrist injury. Nevertheless, Retton won the American Classic in 1983 and 1984, as well as Japan's Chunichi Cup in 1983.

Mary Lou (born March 15, 1992) is an American actress. She is known for playing Mary Ferry on the Nickelodeon television series Unfabulous.

At age 8, she chose to pursue a career in television and film.

Mary Lou’s show business career started at age six when she entertained as a member of Singing Solo (a children's singing group located in La Mesa, CA) at a local street fair with a rendition of The Good Ship Lollipop. After this performance, she chose acting as her career. Over the next few years, Lou went on to sing at over two dozen venues throughout Southern California, Texas and Tennessee, winning multiple local, state, regional, national and world championship titles.

Mary Lou also filmed a guest-starring role on Phil of the Future, as a math-nerd named Alex, in Good Phil Hunting. Mary also appeared on Future Girls: Adventures in Marine Biology and Bad Mother's Handbook and guest starred on What should you do?. More recently Mary was on Glee. She continues to audition daily for feature films, television and voiceover.