Federal Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau visited Winnipeg Friday to speak to young voters ahead of a leadership debate set for Saturday.

He said he wants to work with Manitobans on aboriginal issues as well as natural resource and agricultural policies. He's also hoping to combat voter apathy.

With nine candidates for up for the job, Trudeau is the most well-known of the bunch. Trudeau's father was former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

Trudeau told CBC News on Friday the party needs to rebuild the trust of Canadians from the grassroots up.

"We took people for granted, and Canadians refused to be taken for granted," said Trudeau.

"They like nothing less than entitlement and arrogance, and we fell into that," he added.

Critics have accused Trudeau of relying on his father's popularity. He dismissed that and said his dad's popularity won't have a large impact on young voters.

"For young people — particularly young people these days — if you're not the real deal yourself, they're not going to pay any attention no matter how much grandma remembers meeting your Dad at a train station," he said.

Trudeau will face off against the eight other Liberal leadership hopefuls in a debate scheduled for Saturday.

It's slated for 1p.m. at the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre on Donald Street.