Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar says he wants Parliament to have the final say about the location of the National Portrait Gallery.
Dewar introduced a motion Wednesday requiring parliamentary approval to build the gallery anywhere other than Ottawa.
The location of the new gallery has been at the centre of a contentious debate in recent months.
An original plan to house the gallery in the old American embassy, located across from Parliament Hill, was scratched by the Conservative government due to projected cost overruns.
To come up with a new location, the government opened a competition to find out who could rack up the largest amount of private sector cash to build the gallery's new home.
Ottawa is believed to be one of the final three cities in the running.
