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As Liberal parliamentarians gather in Edmonton for their summer caucus, for the first time there will be no senators present.

As a result, some parts of the country won’t be represented at the party’s key caucus meeting.

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The former Liberal senators — who are now independent of the caucus although they call themselves “Senate Liberals” — will instead hold their own meeting in September to plot a course for the rest of the year.

Once, “we were full participants” at Liberal party caucus meetings, said Sen. James Cowan, the Senate Liberal leader in the upper chamber. “We’re not going to be that anymore.”

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Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau turfed senators from the national caucus in January, severing formal ties with the upper chamber. The move caught many of his senators by surprise and some are still angry at the way they were punted without any warning.

“I think it was a good idea to separate the caucuses,” Cowan said. But, he added, “From a personal point of view, I miss those relationships.”