Vivian Hansen has her daughters spread out across Canada. There's Kierra Alty, who lives in Ottawa while Abby Alty is in Calgary.

And the there's Rebecca Alty. You may have heard of her. She lives in Yellowknife, but given her new role as the MP-elect for the NWT, she's bound to start spending more time in the nation's capital. 

On election night when Alty won her seat in Parliament, Hansen said she's wasn't sure what they'll end up doing.

"This is all kind of new. Like, one-hour new," Hansen said on April 28.

But as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same and Hansen isn鈥檛 exactly a stranger to seeing Alty succeed in politics. She's been by her daughter's side since Alty first ran for city council, where she served two terms as a councillor from 2012 to 2018, before becoming Yellowknife's mayor.

"She's smart," Hansen said about her daughter. "She knows her stuff. She loves to listen to podcasts. She knows a lot."

Hansen also mentioned she herself is planning to retire soon and hopes to visit Ottawa often. 

"I've been trying to figure out what I'm going to do, but I've lived here for 44 years, raised three daughters here," she said.

What really makes her proud of her politician daughter, Hansen said, is her ambition, describing her as someone who has always had high standards and noting that her entry into politics was sometime around when she ran for student council in middle school.

"She just goes out there and puts herself out there,鈥� she said "She always had a list of things she wanted to do. She was often the captain of her soccer teams (and) sports teams. Rebecca was always a high achiever."

But politics is only a fraction of Alty's life, Hansen added. Dancing, it turns out, is another major piece.

"It's one of her things that she loves to do," Hansen recalled, thinking back to when Alty started ballet lessons at five years old. "And as a mother, you're like, 'Oh, I could see her as a dancer.' I remember daydreaming about that."

Alty still takes dance classes, according to her mother. 

"I did this thing with my family once," said Hansen. "I asked them a question about their lives: 'What's one thing you could not live without?' And Rebecca, probably six years ago, said it was dance."

Hansen said she still remembers when Alty first started talking about running for mayor when they were on a trip to Hawaii.

"She kept talking about it and doing the pros and cons," she said.

Alty went on to win that election in 2018, to her mother鈥檚 surprise. Hansen said she was nervous then, just as she was during her daughter's recent federal campaign.

"I don鈥檛 really like that," Hansen said of the anxiety that comes with watching her daughter campaign. "And then the minute these guys started to do the numbers, and once the Yellowknife numbers came in for the Northwest Territories, then I could see it and I was like, 'Oh, okay, this is great.'"

Asked how she鈥檒l keep in touch with Alty now that her daughter will likely spend about half her time in Ottawa, Hansen pulled out her phone and smiled.

"Texting," she said. "We text all the time."

Alty followed up with 黑料吃瓜网 on Thursday about her Mother's Day plans.

"Looking to do brunch or dinner with my mom," she said, adding that she'll probably FaceTime her sisters during it.

Asked if she'll keep up with dancing given her new job, Alty said she hopes to. 

"It might just mean more dancing in my living room or bedroom to wake up in the morning instead of participating in one of the dance classes in Yellowknife," she said.

And should Hansen find herself reading this, her daughter gave her one more comment.

"I love you, mom, and appreciate everything that you've done for me, as a kid up until now," she said.